A fitting for the quick attachment of a rope without the use of a knot or hitch. The cleat proper, ancient and respectable, is roughly like a short stemmed T, with two ‘horns’ which might also be described as arms. But there are various patent cleats of the jamming kind, including Clamcleat which has a V-shaped groove with ridges running down the inner faces to coax the rope into the nip of the V. Cleat can also be used as a verb.