as in fissure
an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure
my fishing line managed to get wedged in a cleft in the rocks
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Recent Examples of cleft
Doctors couldn't tell her how severe the cleft would be or any other complications that may be involved with Benji's diagnosis.
—
Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle.
—CBS News, 14 May 2025
But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025
Many birth defects are treatable; orofacial clefts and some heart defects, for example, can be corrected with surgery.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle.
—CBS News, 14 May 2025
But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025
Many birth defects are treatable; orofacial clefts and some heart defects, for example, can be corrected with surgery.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleft
Noun
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Seismic images of mid-ocean ridges typically show rough and jagged terrain, formed when lava oozes up into the cold ocean along faults or fissures and hardens suddenly into stone.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
26 May 2026
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These seemingly harmless fissures on the surface of a watermelon can indicate deeper problems that affect both taste and freshness.—
Aksha Mittapalli,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 May 2026
Noun
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From search-and-rescue drones navigating tight rock crevices to flexible medical devices implanted in moving joints, the potential applications are vast.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 May 2026
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They can also be found around sprinkler systems, inside pavement crevices, and in mulch.—
Jane Kim,
The Spruce,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleft. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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