1
a
: a wedge-shaped piece fastened to or projecting from something and serving as a support or check
b
: a wooden or metal fitting usually with two projecting horns around which a rope may be made fast
2
a
: a strip fastened across something to give strength or hold in position
b(1)
: a projecting piece (as on the bottom of a shoe) that furnishes a grip
(2)
cleated; cleating; cleats
Examples of cleat in a Sentence
Noun
a football player wearing cleats
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Yaktrax’s Snow Trax are essentially a cheaper, slightly less aggressive version of their Spikes or Ultragrip traction devices, a rubber harness that cinches to your footwear with a hook-and-loop strap and features seven carbide cleats underfoot to bite into icy trails.
—Adam Roy, Outside, 28 Dec. 2025
The move also kept the players’ cleats from turning the three grass practice fields at their El Segundo facility into a muddy quagmire.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025
A number of factors have been correlated to the issue including the difference in women having looser knee ligament, their menstrual cycle, and wearing cleats designed around men’s physiology.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleat
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Noun
There’s been 27 since Dan Marino hung up the cleats after the 1999 season.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Yaktrax’s Snow Trax are essentially a cheaper, slightly less aggressive version of their Spikes or Ultragrip traction devices, a rubber harness that cinches to your footwear with a hook-and-loop strap and features seven carbide cleats underfoot to bite into icy trails.
—Adam Roy, Outside, 28 Dec. 2025
The move also kept the players’ cleats from turning the three grass practice fields at their El Segundo facility into a muddy quagmire.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 25 Dec. 2025
A number of factors have been correlated to the issue including the difference in women having looser knee ligament, their menstrual cycle, and wearing cleats designed around men’s physiology.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleat
Cite this Entry
“Cleat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleat. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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