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• cliff
  cliff

  noun

  a high steep face of a rock.
• Cliff
  Cliff

  noun

  a male given name, form of Clifford or Clifton.

cliff

¹ American  

[klif] / klɪf /

noun

• cliffs
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• clifflike
  adjective
• cliffy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cliffs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cliff

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cliff Cliff cliffs

Nelson is swept away and under the snow, toward a cliff.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

I received this message while gazing out at the Atlantic Ocean parked atop a cliff in the emptiness of Northwest Scotland; the first message from the outside world I’d received in 23 days.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

Unable to get off the sand because of the towering cliff behind them, the couple called 999 and asked for a coast guard rescue.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

The two lanes closest to the cliff remain closed, with traffic routed on the remaining two lanes, with one lane in each direction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Razi considered the map and turned it around so that the cliff on the map pointed to the real cliff.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

Cattini toured with Cliff Richard and Roy Orbison, and performed on television with the Top Of the Pops orchestra.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

This is heartwarming but also discombobulating for the band’s longtime co-manager, Cliff Burnstein.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

“The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” “Like ‘Oppenheimer’ three years ago, ‘The Odyssey’ is the clear front-runner at this early stage in the season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

The genus name Wyoteuthis means "a squid from Wyoming," while the species name linsterorum recognizes Cliff Linster and his family for their contributions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

Cliff, who had been making hand signs across the room at Ria Wolf, jumped and faced forward.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

For nearly 1,000 years, farmers have scratched out a living on this rocky island as soil, sheep and people have been blown over its treacherous cliffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Some of the "hanging coffins" can still be seen on nearby Sagada cliffs.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

McManamon said it is never a safe decision to walk along coastal cliffs in such weather conditions.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Taken at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, the scene reveals striking blue tones across the foreground while morning sunlight illuminates rugged cliffs known as yardangs along the horizon.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

If we had left the door open, we could have seen the sky, still bright, with the sun just beginning to slide away in back of the cliffs.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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Related Words

• bluff
• crag
• precipice
• wall

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