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cleat

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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marine cleat
These shoes have cleats on their soles. The shoes are also called cleats.
This tractor has cleats on its rear wheels.

Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cleat (plural cleats)

  1. A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
  2. A continuous metal strip, or angled piece, used to secure metal components.
  4. (nautical) A device to quickly affix a line or rope, and from which it is also easy to release.
    Coordinate terms: (larger) bitt, bollard
  5. A protrusion on the bottom of a shoe or wheel meant for better traction.
    Hyponyms: blade, stud
    Coordinate term: crampon
    Near-synonym: calk
  6. An athletic shoe equipped with cleats.
    • 2020, Allyssa Loya, Sporty Bugs and Errors, page 26:
      He needs to put on five pieces of gear: his helmet, left glove, right glove, left cleat, and right cleat.
    • 2026 June 21, John Powers, “The World Cup group stage was supposed to be a feeding frenzy. So far, not so much.”, in The Boston Globe‎[1], retrieved 21 June 2026:
      Italy, which lifted the trophy for the fourth time in Berlin two decades ago, has been spiraling downward ever since. The Azzurri didn’t survive their group in 2010 and 2014 and haven’t qualified since. This time the Norwegians, known more for their skill on skis than in cleats, beat them twice in group play by a combined 7-1. Then the Italians lost the playoff to Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalty kicks. Even with a swollen field, just getting here is an accomplishment.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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cleat (third-person singular simple present cleats, present participle cleating, simple past and past participle cleated)

  1. To strengthen with a cleat.
    Hypernym: reinforce
    Coordinate terms: gusset, rib
    • 1960 April, “Type "3" Diesel-Electric Locomotives for the Southern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 239:
      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.
  2. (nautical) To tie off, affix, stopper a line or rope, especially to a cleat.
    Coordinate term: moor
  3. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
    • 2017 April 10, “Book reveals how faith sustained Jackie Robinson as he shattered racial barriers”, in Indiana University‎[2]:
      Robinson faced death threats daily, and no one – not even his teammates – wanted to be around him. “He was surrounded by nothing but hate,” Lamb said. “Pitchers threw at his head, and base runners tried to cleat him.”

Anagrams

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