The cleave combinators apply multiple quotations to a single value or set of values.

Two quotations:

bi ( x p q -- )

2bi ( x y p q -- )

3bi ( x y z p q -- )

Three quotations:

tri ( x p q r -- )

2tri ( x y p q r -- )

3tri ( x y z p q r -- )

An array of quotations:

cleave ( x seq -- )

2cleave ( x y seq -- )

3cleave ( x y z seq -- )

4cleave ( w x y z seq -- )

Cleave combinators provide a more readable alternative to repeated applications of the keep combinators. The following example using keep:

can be more clearly written using tri: