cliff

¹ American  

[klif] / klɪf /

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.

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Cliff ² American  

[klif] / klɪf /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Clifford or Clifton.

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cliff British  

/ klɪf /

noun

1. a steep high rock face, esp one that runs along the seashore and has the strata exposed

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Other Word Forms

• clifflike adjective
• cliffy adjective

Etymology

Origin of cliff

before 900; Middle English clif, Old English, cognate with Dutch, Low German, Old Norse klif

Example Sentences

Software stocks have fallen off a cliff on the back of competitive threats from the major artificial-intelligence innovators.

From Barron's

A 70-year-old man died Tuesday after falling from a cliff along California’s treacherous Devil’s Slide, an oceanside stretch in Pacifica known for steep terrain that has led to several fatal accidents.

From Los Angeles Times

Merck announced earlier this week that it would reorganize its human health business to create a separate division for its oncology medicines ahead of Keytruda’s patent cliff.

From Barron's

“I would climb mountains and traverse dangerous cliff paths. I would poke my head into dark caves and push over heavy boulders.”

From Literature

Back from the cliff edge Scotland stepped and into the coming weeks they go with France to play at home and Ireland away.

From BBC

Related Words

• bluff
• crag
• precipice
• wall