cliff

/klɪf/

//klɪf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cliff” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,037. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,037
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cliff · cliff · English

cliff · rank #6,037 · 6 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,037
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH civilians

Nearest frequency peer: civilians (-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 “cliff”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cliff” 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).

cliff vs clip
60% similar
cliff vs cuff
60% similar
cliff vs clit
60% similar

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

Key facts for cliff
PropertyValue
Headwordcliff
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/klɪf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,037
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cliff”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).clifflands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “civilians” (#6,036), “citizenship” (#6,035), “consensus” (#6,039). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cliff” is #6,037. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cliff (IPA /klɪf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,037 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cliff, with forms such as "ccliff", "cilff", and "clfif". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "clip", "cuff", "clit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-West Germanic *klib, from Proto-Germanic *klibą. The correct English form is cliff, spelled C-L-I-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
  2. 2
    A point beyond which something abruptly fails or decreases in value, performance, etc.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

acantilado(Español)falaise(Français)Klippe(Deutsch)falésia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccliff
  • cilff
  • clfif
  • clif
  • clliff
  • lciff

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cliff - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccliff1cilff2clfif2clif1clliff1lciff2
Edit distance from "cliff"

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 "cliff"?
"cliff" is spelled C-L-I-F-F. The IPA pronunciation is /klɪf/.
What does "cliff" mean?
As a noun, "cliff" means: A vertical (or nearly vertical) rock face.
What words are commonly confused with "cliff"?
"cliff" is commonly confused with "clip", "cuff", "clit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cliff"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cliff" is /klɪf/. 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 "cliff"?
From Middle English clyf, from Old English clif, from Proto-West Germanic *klib, from Proto-Germanic *klibą. 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 "cliff", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

derby#6,043booth#6,027draws#6,047belly#6,026

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Dennis6 variantssilk6 variantslung6 variantspolls6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list