cleat.
A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
Meaning & usage
A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
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.
An athletic shoe equipped with cleats.
Where this word comes from
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.
To tie off, affix, stopper a line or rope, especially to a cleat.
Where this word comes from
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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.