cleat
noun
- projection on sole of shoe
- accessory for connecting shoe to ski or cycle pedal
- rope-securing device
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L331163 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kliːt/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English clete, from Old English *clēat (“block, wedge”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaut, from Proto-Germanic *klautaz (“firm lump”), from Proto-Indo-European *gelewd-, from *gley- (“to glue, stick together, form into a ball”). Cognate with Dutch kloot (“ball; testicle”) and German Kloß (“clump”). See also clay and clout.
- A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
“[...] the people of that island erected lofty spars along the seacoast, to which the look-outs ascended by means of nailed cleats, something as fowls go upstairs in a hen-house.”
“I had learned that cattle willingly walk down a ramp that has cleats to provide secure, nonslip footing.”
- A continuous metal strip, or angled piece, used to secure metal components.
- A device to quickly affix a line or rope, and from which it is also easy to release.
- A protrusion on the bottom of a shoe or wheel meant for better traction.
“Near-synonym: calk”
- An athletic shoe equipped with cleats.
“He needs to put on five pieces of gear: his helmet, left glove, right glove, left cleat, and right cleat.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English clete, from Old English *clēat (“block, wedge”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaut, from Proto-Germanic *klautaz (“firm lump”), from Proto-Indo-European *gelewd-, from *gley- (“to glue, stick together, form into a ball”). Cognate with Dutch kloot (“ball; testicle”) and German Kloß (“clump”). See also clay and clout.
- To strengthen with a cleat.
“An inner floor over the whole area of the deck provides a space for all the cable and pipe runs. On one side the cables are cleated into a duct which is sealed against the ingress of water and oil; the pipe lines run underneath the opposite side floor.”
- To tie off, affix, stopper a line or rope, especially to a cleat.