cliff dweller

Save This Word!

noun

(usually initial capital letter) a member of a prehistoric people of the southwestern U.S., who were ancestors of the Pueblo Indians and built shelters in caves or on the ledges of cliffs.

a person who lives in an apartment house, especially in a large city.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cliff dweller

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

OTHER WORDS FROM cliff dweller

cliff dwelling, noun

Words nearby cliff dweller

client/server network, client state, Clifden nonpareil, cliff, cliff brake, cliff dweller, cliff-hang, cliffhanger, cliff-hanging, Clifford, Clifford trust

How to use cliff dweller in a sentence

This is where I think the argument against me falls off the cliff.
Seriously, Democrats: You’re Done in Dixie|Michael Tomasky|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Would I like to tell half the people I work with to go jump off a cliff?
The Hot Designer Who Hates Fashion: VK Nagrani Triumphs His Own Way|Tom Teodorczuk|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We first met Hajji Zalwar Khan over tea and lunch in the Pech Valley in a house clinging to a cliff high above the valley floor.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The probe appears to be sitting at the bottom of a "cliff" on the comet, but beyond that it's hard to tell.
Earthlings, We Landed on a Comet|Matthew R. Francis|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The young goslings' first major life event is to cliff dive down to their parents, as was captured here by BBC cameras.
Barnacle Gosling’s Death-Defying Cliff Dive|Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Only the petrol tins they took for water right and left of their pathway up the cliff; huge diamonds in the evening sun.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
At dawn half a battalion of Turks tried to make the attack along the top of the cliff and were entirely wiped out.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
One morning Straightshaft climbed the cliff and looked far up and down the valley.
The Later Cave-Men|Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
Then everybody climbed up a hill or a high cliff and watched the coming of the bison.
The Later Cave-Men|Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
There was Cliff Manning, you turned the cold shoulder to him because he couldnt talk grammar.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater