cliff
noun
a high steep face of a rock.
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cliff
1 American
[klif]
/ klɪf /
noun
cliffs
plural
-
a high steep face of a rock.
- Synonyms:
- crag, ledge, promontory, bluff
-
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.
Cliff
2
American
[klif]
/ klɪf /
noun
cliff
British
/ klɪf /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cliff
before 900; Middle English clif, Old English, cognate with Dutch, Low German, Old Norse klif
Explanation
A cliff is a steep and often sheer rock face. If you stand on the edge of a cliff and peer over, you'll be able to see the waves crashing on the rocks below. But if you don't watch your step, you could fall right off that cliff. So many action movies feature a scene in which a car chase leads to a car full of villains plunging spectacularly off a steep rock wall, or cliff. As the car hurtles over the edge of the cliff and smashes onto the rocks below, it invariably explodes in a shower of flames and a cloud of smoke.
Vocabulary lists containing cliff
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Talk to a tax adviser about possible Roth conversions and ways to manage a potential tax cliff.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
In June, Tahnoon came to Washington, and Estevez met him again, this time at a McLean, Va. mansion Tahnoon owned, on a cliff overlooking the Potomac river.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
However, it said that in order to avoid a "cliff edge" with several peers leaving at the same time, the retirement threshold should be phased in gradually.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
“It’s great that the state is invested in this issue, and they invested in one of the best coastal cliff experts that we have,” Barnard said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Shifa didn’t look convinced but she helped bring in the boat and wedge it under the cliff in a copse of coconut trees.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Sarah Cliff told BBC Radio Surrey Dame Penelope had been part of her childhood.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Cliff height, wave action, the type of rock and the slope of the beach could all factor into a cliff’s stability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
His abstract painting "Doll Boy" -- a reference to his crush on the pop singer Cliff Richard -- caught the eye of the art dealer John Kasmin, who bought it for £40.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Such was the illustrious reputation of Shoemaker’s estate that its moniker, Cedar Cliff, was eventually used to name the street on which the estate sits.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Cliff was in his seventies and still minding the tobacco barn behind the farmhouse his father had built decades earlier, checking the furnaces several times a day to make sure they stayed at 120 degrees.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
But lately, a different demographic has flocked to its limestone cliffs: office workers from China’s big cities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Adalberto Maypora, a well-known character around town, inspects his fishing boat on a deserted beach nestled between cliffs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Crumbling cliffs loom over more than 530 miles of the California coast, and the cost of establishing a statewide sensor network would be significant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier posted a photograph of an image of the Bayeux Tapestry which the British Museum had projected on to the white cliffs of Dover.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, Rondon and a group of camaradas were clearing a trail over the hills and cliffs so they could drag the remaining canoes overland.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
