Definition of "cleaver"

cleaver

/ˈklivɚ/

noun
plural cleavers
1. A squarish, heavy knife used by butchers for hacking through bones, etc.
  Quotations
  When he came to Nottingham, he entered that part of the market where butchers stood, and took up his inn in the best place he could find. Next, he opened his stall and spread his meat upon the bench, then, taking his cleaver and steel and clattering them together, he trolled aloud in merry tones:...
  1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […]
  Concurrently with Flay's visualization of the cleaver falling—the cleaver fell.
  1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan
2. (music, Bahamas) A type of clave, or rhythm stick, a concussive musical instrument used in traditional Bahamian music.
3. (figurative) The act of eliminating someone or something, especially when done by someone with a history of other eliminations; a dismissal, rejection, or removal.
  Quotations
  Conte has broken the mould further with the suggestion he might escape the Abramovich cleaver, becoming the first of his line to leave by his own volition.
  2017 May 13, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in the Guardian‎
4. (rowing) A type of oar blade with an asymmetric, mostly rectangular shape that resembles a cleaving knife.