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

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

Dr Neil Brierley is a consultant cleft and plastic surgeon in the West Midlands Cleft Service.

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

A cleft lip and palate is a condition which is present from birth, external when the upper lip, roof of the mouth, or both, fail to fuse properly during pregnancy.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

The sun moved downward toward the bare stone teeth of the mountains, and Kino set his direction for a dark and shadowy cleft in the range.

From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

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

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2024

Although it only covers about three square miles, the coastline is so ragged with “geos” — deep clefts in cliffs — that walking the circumference takes longer than you might think.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

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

They communicate across infinitesimal gaps known as synaptic clefts.

From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2018

They made an undulating ridge, often rising almost to a thousand feet, and here and there falling again to low clefts or passes leading into the eastern land beyond.

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

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