I. cleft 1 /kleft/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: geclyft ]
1 . a natural crack in something, especially the surface of rocks or the Earth
2 . an area on the chin or lip that goes slightly inwards
II. cleft 2 BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: ↑ cleft 3 ]
be (caught) in a cleft stick British English to be in a very difficult situation in which any action or decision you make will cause problems
III. cleft 3 BrE AmE
a past tense and past participle of ↑ cleave