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

Other Word Forms

• cliffy adjective
• clifflike 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

When a cherished loved one dies, relatives often decide to scatter their ashes at a significant landmark - a mountain, a cliff top, a riverbank.

Read more on BBC

Picnic in our backpacks, my husband and I hiked in from the Palomarin Headlands — about 2.5 miles — along cliffs where you can spot gray and humpback whales, and shaded paths where dappled shadows dance.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It said strong gusts "pose a significant risk to safety" and appealed to the public to "exercise extreme caution, particularly along exposed cliffs, seafronts, piers and waterside paths".

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The act eliminated the subsidy cliff by limiting the premiums for families at 400% or above to 8.5% of applicable income.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Below the cliff where Arisu and this gentleman converse lies a vast body of churning water with a foreboding whirlpool at its heart.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bluff 
• crag 
• precipice 
• wall