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

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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

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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

It comes as one psychology academic warned people with a cleft lip were being "deliberately targeted" by the aesthetics industry and "left vulnerable to potential harm and exploitation".

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Two young women who have turned to dermal fillers after having cleft lip surgery say it has given them confidence after they were both left with scarring.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

She was born with a cleft lip and underwent two surgeries, one as a baby to close her cleft, and one when she was 10 to smooth out her lips.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Evans was discharged from cleft services when she was 17.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Slowly they crawled up to the edge of the ring again, and peered through a cleft between two jagged stones.

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

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

The horses had drunk their fill of the icy cold water, and were grazing on clumps of brown grass that grew from clefts in the rock.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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