Cliff

//klɪf// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1
A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
", scar"
2
Obsolete form of clef. alt-of, obsolete
"Suppose a Person hath learnt to sing in the Treble Cliff only, and would sing Notes prick'd in the Tenor Cliff on the middle tine with F# […]"
3
a steep high face of rock wordnet
4
A point beyond which something abruptly fails or decreases in value, performance, etc. figuratively

Proper Noun

1
A diminutive of the male given name Clifford or Clifton.
2
A surname.
3
An unincorporated community and coal town in Floyd County, Kentucky, United States.
4
A census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico, United States.
5
A hamlet in North Warwickshire district, Warwickshire, England (OS grid ref SP2198).

Show 2 more definitions

6
A neighbourhood, The Cliff, in the Metropolitan Borough of Salford, Greater Manchester, England (OS grid ref SD8201).
7
A small settlement on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland, appearing on OS maps as Cliobh (OS grid ref NB0835).

Synonyms

bluff crag drop drop off drop-off escarpment

Antonyms

Example

"If you shout from the top of a cliff, you can hear the echo of your voice."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-West Germanic *klib, from Proto-Germanic *klibą.

Etymology 2

The given name is from shortenings of the diminutives. The surname is from the noun cliff.

Related phrases

American cliff swallow Cliffs End Kuiper cliff Oak Cliff Red Cliffs Seacliff Park West Cliff White Cliff White Cliffs alto cliff ambulance at the bottom of a cliff bass cliff

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.