cliff dweller
- (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.
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Origin of cliff dweller
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cliff dweller
Historical Examples
The designs are similar to those found on cliff-dweller pottery.
Mesa Verde National ParkAnonymous
In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has learned to modify its home in different localities.
Bird NeighborsNeltje Blanchan
A square figure with interior parallel squares extending to the center is also found, as elsewhere, in cliff-dweller pictography.
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895Jesse Walter Fewkes
I believe I've neglected to say that there is a dimple in my chin, and Uncle Lancelot's spirit is a cliff-dweller living there.
Amazing GraceKate Trimble Sharber
The cliff-dweller country supports a scant vegetation—a few cottonwood in the washes, a few cedars on the mesas.