cleft

/klɛft/

//klɛft// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cleft" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cleft” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,109. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,109
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cleft · cleft · English

cleft · rank #31,109 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,109
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cleanest

Nearest frequency peer: cleanest (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cleft”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cleft” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cleft vs clot
60% similar
cleft vs clit
60% similar
cleft vs Cleo
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cleft
PropertyValue
Headwordcleft
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klɛft/
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,109
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cleft”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cleftlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cleanest” (#31,108), “clump” (#31,110), “Chopin” (#31,107). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cleft” is #31,109. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around cleft (IPA /klɛft/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,109 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cleft, with forms such as "ccleft", "celft", and "clefft". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "clot", "clit", "Cleo", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clift, from Old English ġeclyft, from Proto-West Germanic *klufti, from Proto-Germanic *kluftiz, equivalent to cleave + -t (“-th”). Compare Dutch klucht (“coarse comedy”), Swedish klyft (“cave, den”), German Kluft. See cleave. The correct English form is cleft, spelled C-L-E-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
  2. 2
    A piece made by splitting.
  3. 3
    A disease of horses; a crack on the band of the pastern.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cleft appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The river flows through a cleft in the mountains.
  2. Then came some palsied oak, a cleft in him / Like a distorted mouth that splits its rim / Gaping at death, and dies while it recoils.

Etymology

From Middle English clift, from Old English ġeclyft, from Proto-West Germanic *klufti, from Proto-Germanic *kluftiz, equivalent to cleave + -t (“-th”). Compare Dutch klucht (“coarse comedy”), Swedish klyft (“cave, den”), German Kluft. See cleave.

This word in other languages

hendidura(Español)fissure(Français)Spalte(Deutsch)partido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccleft
  • celft
  • clefft
  • cleftt
  • cletf
  • clfet
  • clleft
  • lceft

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cleft - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccleft1celft2clefft1cleftt1cletf2clfet2clleft1lceft2
Edit distance from "cleft"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cleft"?
"cleft" is spelled C-L-E-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is /klɛft/.
What does "cleft" mean?
As a noun, "cleft" means: An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
What words are commonly confused with "cleft"?
"cleft" is commonly confused with "clot", "clit", "Cleo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cleft"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cleft" is /klɛft/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cleft"?
From Middle English clift, from Old English ġeclyft, from Proto-West Germanic *klufti, from Proto-Germanic *kluftiz, equivalent to cleave + -t (“-th”). Compare Dutch klucht (“coarse comedy”), Swedish klyft (“cave, den”), German Kluft. See cleave. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cleft", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clump#31,110chewy#31,105deuce#31,135Bevan#31,080

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Dickie8 variantsearner8 variantseraser8 variantsalkali8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list