Standard Lemma guide

cliffy

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪfi

1

adj

Meaning 1

Abounding in cliffs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 176. There is naked Nature,—inhumanly sincere, wasting no thought on man, nibbling at the cliffy shore where gulls wheel amid the spray.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Characteristic of a cliff.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A cliffhanger (dramatic stopping point in a story).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English cliff Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English cliffy From cliff + -y.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: kallioinen — abounding in cliffs