cleft palate

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noun

a congenital defect of the palate in which a longitudinal fissure exists in the roof of the mouth, often associated with a cleft lip.

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Origin of cleft palate

First recorded in 1840–50

Words nearby cleft palate

Cleese, Cleethorpes, clef, cleft, cleft lip, cleft palate, cleft sentence, cleg, Clegg, cleidoic, cleidoic egg

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cleft palate in a sentence

Common illustrations of such deforming developmental accidents are harelip, cleft palate, and club foot.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
Should this failure to unite be in the deeper structures of the head, then cleft palate is the result.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
The operation for cleft palate is usually successful when performed at the proper time and by competent hands.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler
A keeper of the Zoological Gardens in Philadelphia observed cleft palate in the mouths of lion cubs born in the gardens.
Degeneracy|Eugene S. Talbot

In a case cited elsewhere, three members of one family had cleft palate; one 17 years old, the other 30, and the third 35.
Degeneracy|Eugene S. Talbot

British Dictionary definitions for cleft palate

cleft palate

noun

a congenital crack or fissure in the midline of the hard palate, often associated with a harelip

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cleft palate

cleft palate

Incomplete closure of the palate during development of an embryo, resulting in a split along part or all of the roof of the mouth.