cliff

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /klɪf/ See IPA manual

noun name Freq #3237

Meanings

1

noun
A high, steep face of rock, often by the sea.

I stood on a high cliff overlooking the town.
2

noun
A point at which something suddenly fails or drops sharply.

The company is heading toward a financial cliff.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a high, steep face of rock,... precipice

Word family

Forms cliffscliffy

Derived forms clevelandcliff-boundcliff-facecliff-greencliff-hangercliffagecliffboundcliffbrakecliffdropcliffedcliffgreencliffhanger

Etymology

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

*gleybʰ- Proto-Indo-European clyf Middle English clif Old English *klib Proto-West Germanic *klibą Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# cliff

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, name
**IPA (US):** klɪf
**Frequency rank:** 3237

## Meanings
1. A high, steep face of rock, often by the sea.
2. A point at which something suddenly fails or drops sharply.

## Examples
- I stood on a high cliff overlooking the town.
- The company is heading toward a financial cliff.

## Derived Forms
- cleveland
- cliff-bound
- cliff-face
- cliff-green
- cliff-hanger
- cliffage
- cliffbound
- cliffbrake
- cliffdrop
- cliffed
- cliffgreen
- cliffhanger

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gleybʰ-
- Root: clyf
- Root: clif
- Root: *klib
- Root: *klibą

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

## AI Etymology
cliff is a noun and name. It is from Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-West Germanic *klib, from Proto-Germanic *klibą. Historical forms in the chain include *gleybʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), clyf (Middle English), clif (Old English), *klib (Proto-West Germanic), and *klibą (Proto-Germanic). Current senses include a high, steep face of rock, often by the sea and a point at which something suddenly fails or drops sharply. Derived forms include cleveland, cliff-bound, cliff-face, cliff-green, and cliff-hanger.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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cliff

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