cliff

¹

[ klif ]

noun

1. a high steep face of a rock.

   Synonyms: crag, ledge, promontory, bluff

2. a critical point or situation beyond which something bad or undesirable may occur:

   The committee is right up to the cliff with no deal in sight.

Cliff

²

[ klif ]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Clifford or Clifton.

cliff

/ klɪf /

noun

1. a steep high rock face, esp one that runs along the seashore and has the strata exposed

Derived Forms

• ˈcliffy, adjective

Other Words From

• clifflike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cliff¹

before 900; Middle English clif, Old English, cognate with Dutch, Low German, Old Norse klif

Word History and Origins

Origin of cliff¹

Old English clif; related to Old Norse kleif, Middle Low German klēf, Dutch klif; see cleave ²

Example Sentences

Komal’s morning view was of jagged, forbidding mountains, the rush of the river dozens of metres below the family home on the cliff.

From BBC

For a rare, if not lucky, few days a year, Yosemite National Park’s famed El Capitan granite cliff converts into what looks like an active volcano jutting 3,000 feet above the valley floor.

From Los Angeles Times

On one side, the road falls off into a steep cliff.

From Los Angeles Times

If we go over this cliff there's no way back.

From Salon

A house has been left teetering close to the edge of a crumbling cliff following significant rockfall along the Jurassic Coast.

From BBC

Related Words

• bluff
• crag
• precipice
• wall