Cliffhang
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To be in suspense. intransitive
"With furtive references to Gnostic gospels and a cast of characters that includes a beautiful blond novice (with whom Luciano fancies himself in love), a corrupt council of cardinals, a syphilitic doge and the brutal Cappe Nere, or secret police, all abroad in Venice’s sinister maze of watery alleyways, the scene looks set for a cliffhanging thriller in the style of “The Da Vinci Code.”"
Example
More examples"With furtive references to Gnostic gospels and a cast of characters that includes a beautiful blond novice (with whom Luciano fancies himself in love), a corrupt council of cardinals, a syphilitic doge and the brutal Cappe Nere, or secret police, all abroad in Venice’s sinister maze of watery alleyways, the scene looks set for a cliffhanging thriller in the style of “The Da Vinci Code.”"
Etymology
Back-formation from cliffhanger.
More for "cliffhang"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.