cleft

¹

[ kleft ]

noun

1. a space or opening made by cleavage; a split.

   Synonyms: crevasse, chasm, cranny, rift, crack, crevice, fissure

2. a division formed by cleaving. cleave.
3. a hollow area or indentation:

   a chin with a cleft.

4. Veterinary Pathology. a crack on the bend of the pastern of a horse.

cleft

²

[ kleft ]

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of cleave ².

adjective

1. cloven; cleave; cloven; split; divided.
2. (of a leaf, corolla, lobe, or other expanded plant part) having divisions formed by incisions or narrow sinuses that extend more than halfway to the midrib or the base.

cleft

/ klɛft /

verb

1. the past tense and a past participle of cleave 1

noun

1. a fissure or crevice
2. an indentation or split in something, such as the chin, palate, etc

adjective

1. split; divided
2. (of leaves) having one or more incisions reaching nearly to the midrib

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleft¹

1300–50; Middle English clift, Old English ( ge ) clyft split, cracked; cognate with Old High German, Old Norse kluft; akin to cleave ²

Origin of cleft²

cleft ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cleft¹

Old English geclyft (n); related to Old High German kluft tongs, German Kluft gap, fissure; see cleave ¹

Example Sentences

“It certainly happened to me,” said Schimberg, who has a cleft palate.

From Salon

When Schimberg first wrote the script, inspired by his own struggles with a cleft palate and his experience working with Pearson on his 2019 satire “Chained for Life,” he initially had no idea how he would actually pull off the film’s demanding prosthetics work.

From Los Angeles Times

Take lamotrigine, for instance: In the early 2000s, animal trials indicated that it could increase conditions like cleft palate, but later studies found no such link, reassuring clinicians.

From Salon

By late afternoon he was on rocky ground cleft with ravines.

From Literature

I compared it to my own visual lexicon of roundness: cleft chin, tight curls, bumpy nose.

From Los Angeles Times