cliff
/klɪf/noun
cliff is spelled C-L-I-F-F: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Cliff, the name). As a noun, cliff means “A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cliff is cliffs.
How many letters and syllables are in cliff?
| Letters | 5: C-L-I-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 6,047th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cliff?
Cliff appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Cliff, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cliff?
- /klɪf/
- [kʰl̥ɪf]
- /kləf/
Cliff has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cliff.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cliff
Also written: clef.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of cliff
- cliffs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cliff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
, scar
- 2
A point beyond which something abruptly fails or decreases in value, performance, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cliff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a (near) vertical rock face:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | falaise |
| German | Klippe, Felsen |
| Portuguese | penhasco, falésia |
| Spanish | acantilado, precipicio, risco, despeñadero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cliff come from?
From Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-West Germanic *klib, from Proto-Germanic *klibą.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).