cloverleaf

adj, noun, verb — 4 senses

cloverleaf

adj

UK /ˈkləʊvəliːf/ · US /ˈkloʊvɚliːf/

Etymology From clover + leaf.

1

In the form of the leaf of a clover plant; cloverleafed.

a fancy cloverleaf motif

cloverleaf

noun

Etymology From clover + leaf.

1

With plural cloverleaves The leaf of a clover plant.

Cloverleaves have a pealike flavor and make a nice accent among salad greens.

2

US (with plural cloverleafs or cloverleaves) Ellipsis of cloverleaf interchange.

The off-ramp will lead you along the cloverleaf to your next on-ramp.
By the time we got into Tulsa Town We had eighty-five trucks in all But there's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf And them bears was wall-to-wall.1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:

Derived terms: cloverleaf antenna, cloverleaf interchange, cloverleaf model, clover-leaf roll, clover-leaf sight, clover-leaf skull, cloverleaf skull, cloverleaf stack, cloverleaf tongue, clover leaf weevil, parclo
Related terms: in clover

cloverleaf

verb

Etymology From clover + leaf.

1

To turn by following a cloverleaf, or as if by following one.

Hay told a military historian that Allen precipitated “the debacle” by “allowing his lead company to pursue the VC down the trail” instead of forming a perimeter and cloverleafing at the first sign of the enemy.2003, David Maraniss, They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.