a split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
"The dentist gently examined the patient's cleft before discussing surgical options to repair the separation in her upper lip and roof of the mouth."
An opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation made by or as if by splitting.
"The cleft in the riverbank exposed smooth stones beneath the rushing water."
To syntactically separate a prominent constituent from the rest of the clause that concerns it, such as threat in "The threat which I saw but which he didn't see, was his downfall."
"The old wooden beam had cleft down the middle during the storm, splitting it into two jagged halves."
simple past tense and past participle of cleave
split or divided
"he had a cleft chin and strong jaw"
"the infant was born with a double harelip and cleft palate"
"a cleft stick"
split, divided, or partially divided into two.
"The cleft in the rock face provided a perfect hiding spot for the small deer."