cliff

¹ American  

[klif] / klɪf /

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.

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Cliff ² American  

[klif] / klɪf /

noun

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

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cliff British  

/ klɪf /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• clifflike adjective
• cliffy adjective

Etymology

Origin of cliff

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

Example Sentences

EV sales, though, were about to fall off a cliff.

From The Wall Street Journal

On top of that, some startups have gotten rid of vesting cliffs altogether, meaning an employee owns his or her shares from the moment they start working for the company.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pessimists have overused the image of Wile E. Coyote running off a cliff and not falling until after doing a double-take.

From The Wall Street Journal

The artist’s summer stays on the Northern French coastline began in 1885 in Grandcamp, a humble fishing village distinguished only by its vacant beachfront and dramatic cliffs rising to the east.

From The Wall Street Journal

Among the region’s architectural highlights are the ramshackle row houses of the ancient Penedo village and the precarious seaside village of Azenhas do Mar with its white cottages clinging to coastal cliffs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bluff
• crag
• precipice
• wall