cliff /klɪf/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: clif ]
a large area of rock or a mountain with a very steep side, often at the edge of the sea or a river
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ high/low
The cliffs here are the highest in Britain.
▪ steep (=sloping at a high angle)
The cliffs were steep and dangerous.
▪ a sheer/vertical cliff (=straight up and down rather than sloping)
Sheer cliffs defend the island.
▪ a sea cliff
The birds breed mainly on sea cliffs and in sea caves.
▪ a coastal cliff
Here the coastal cliffs are low, jutting out into the sea.
▪ a rocky cliff
The forest stops where a rocky cliff falls to a saltwater lagoon.
▪ a craggy/jagged cliff (=with a lot of sharp rocks)
This is an area of spectacular gorges and jagged cliffs.
▪ a rugged cliff (=rough and uneven)
Huge Atlantic waves were breaking against the rugged cliffs.
▪ a towering cliff (=very high)
the towering cliffs of Gibraltar
▪ chalk/limestone/granite cliffs
White chalk cliffs rose up from the sea.
■ cliff + NOUN
▪ a cliff face (=a steep surface or side of a cliff)
Some climbers were scrambling up the steep cliff face.
▪ a cliff edge
Keep away from the cliff edge.
▪ a cliff top
There was a lovely view from the cliff top.
▪ a cliff ledge (=a flat narrow piece that sticks out from a cliff)
Some of the goats were even grazing on the cliff ledges.
▪ a cliff path
I followed the cliff path down to the bay.
▪ a cliff walk (=a walk along cliffs)
Shall we do the cliff walk this morning?
■ phrases
▪ be perched (high) on a cliff (=be situated on a cliff)
An 11th century castle is perched high on the cliff.
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THESAURUS
▪ mountain a very high hill:
the highest mountain in Austria
▪ hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, which is like a mountain but smaller and usually has a rounded top:
We went for a walk in the hills.
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The house is surrounded by woods, farmland and gentle hills.
▪ Mount ( also Mt written abbreviation ) used in the names of mountains. Don’t say ‘Fuji Mountain’ – say ‘Mount Fuji’ :
Mount Everest
▪ cliff the steep side of an area of land, often next to the sea:
the white cliffs of Dover
▪ precipice especially literary a very steep and dangerous cliff:
They were standing on the edge of a precipice.
▪ crag a high steep rock or mountain:
An eagle sailed over the high crags.
▪ ridge a long narrow area of high ground, especially at the top of a mountain:
I could see a group of climbers high up on a ridge.
▪ knoll a small round hill:
a grassy knoll
▪ volcano a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which ↑ lava (=hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out:
the eruption of a volcano
▪ summit the very highest point of a mountain:
the summit of Mt Everest
▪ peak especially literary the top of a mountain:
the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas
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a distant peak
▪ range/chain a group of mountains or hills arranged in a line:
the mountain range that is part of the border between Norway and Sweden
▪ foothills a group of smaller hills below a range of high mountains:
the Sierra foothills