cleft

¹ American  

[kleft] / klɛft /

noun

• clefts
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

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

2. a division formed by cleaving.

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.

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cleft ² American  

[kleft] / klɛft /

verb

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

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adjective

1. 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 British  

/ klɛft /

verb

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

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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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• clefts
  plural

Etymology

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

see origin at cleft ¹

Explanation

If you're looking for an indentation or opening in something, you're looking for a cleft (noun). A person with a cleft (adjective) chin has a little dent in the middle of their chin. Most superheroes have one. Superman is known for his ability to leap tall buildings, his crush on Lois Lane, and the cleft in his chin. For some reason, that cleft is supposed to make him look strong. Some clefts are not so nice. A cleft palate is an upper lip with a deep indentation in it that should be fixed by a surgeon. You may know the verb cleave, which means to cut down the middle. If you cleave something but don't finish the job, you've probably left a cleft in it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cleft clefts

Her daughter was born early with a cleft palate, facial symptoms of sodium valproate syndrome as well as ADHD.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The medical term for my ailment is an asymmetrical gluteal cleft, though requests to fix it are far less common than those to eliminate cellulite, flatten the tummy, or augment the breasts.

From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026

Reported problems include spina bifida, cleft palate, and a range of intellectual, communication, behavior and memory disorders.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2025

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 ● Sep. 10, 2024

This stream flows into the valley out of a sort of cleft in the rock ridge to the left of Burden Hill—the water comes from outside, and it was poisoned.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

The timing of when DNA methylation occurs, was critical to the development of orofacial clefts.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2024

Holes, slits and clefts are common, surrounded by clay inscribed with organic patterns.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023

And there will be paintings — the latest from her ongoing series depicting faceless torsos and abstract clefts, bodies alone or cleaving.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

The protein is large and globular, and it doesn’t have deep pockets or clefts on its surface where a drug could slip in.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2021

Along the crest of the ridge the hobbits could see what looked to be the remains of green-grown walls and dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the ruins of old works of stone.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien