cleft

/klɛft/

/klɛft/

Other forms: clefts

If you're looking for an indentation or opening in something, you're looking for a cleft (noun). A person with a cleft (adjective) chin has a little dent in the middle of their chin. Most superheroes have one.

Superman is known for his ability to leap tall buildings, his crush on Lois Lane, and the cleft in his chin. For some reason, that cleft is supposed to make him look strong. Some clefts are not so nice. A cleft palate is an upper lip with a deep indentation in it that should be fixed by a surgeon. You may know the verb cleave, which means to cut down the middle. If you cleave something but don't finish the job, you've probably left a cleft in it.

Definitions of cleft

1. noun

   a long narrow opening
   synonyms: crack, crevice, fissure, scissure

   types:

   chap

   a crack in a lip caused usually by cold

   chink

   a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall

   crevasse

   a deep fissure

   fatigue crack

   a crack in metal resulting from metal fatigue

   break, fault, faulting, fracture, geological fault, shift

   (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

   rift

   a narrow fissure in rock

   slit

   a narrow fissure

   split

   a lengthwise crack in wood

   vent, volcano

   a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt

   inclined fault

   a geological fault in which one side is above the other

   strike-slip fault

   a geological fault in which one of the adjacent surfaces appears to have moved horizontally

   type of:

   gap, opening

   an open or empty space in or between things
2. noun

   a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
   type of:

   indentation, indenture

   a concave cut into a surface or edge (as in a coastline)
3. adjective

   split or divided
4. adjective

   having one or more incisions reaching nearly to the midrib
   synonyms: dissected

   compound

   composed of more than one part