| / English Dictionary |
CLEFT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A long narrow opening
Synonyms:
cleft; crack; crevice; fissure; scissure
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("cleft" is a kind of...):
gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cleft"):
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A split or indentation in something (as the palate or chin)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("cleft" is a kind of...):
indentation; indenture (a concave cut into a surface or edge (as in a coastline))
Derivation:
cleave (separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument)
cleave (make by cutting into)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having one or more indentations reaching nearly to the midrib
Synonyms:
cleft; dissected
Classified under:
Similar:
compound (composed of more than one part)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Split or divided
Example:
a cleft stick
Classified under:
Similar:
divided (separated into parts or pieces)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb cleave
Context examples:
Cleft lip and palate transmembrane protein 1-like protein (538 aa, ~62 kDa) is encoded by the human CLPTM1L gene.
(Cleft Lip and Palate Transmembrane Protein 1-Like Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
This allele, which encodes cleft lip and palate transmembrane protein 1-like protein, may be involved in the regulation of apoptosis.
(CLPTM1L wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Acetylcholine diffuses across the cleft and binds to muscle acetylcholine receptors, causing depolarization and an action potential that travels throughout the length of the muscle cell triggering muscle contraction.
(Botulin Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
The A strain mouse has an albino coat (genotype a,b,c) and is susceptible to carcinogen-induced lung adenomas and cleft palate formation in response to cortisone.
(A/J Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)
Any substance that inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AchE), an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine (Ach) in the synaptic cleft.
(Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor, NCI Thesaurus)
It is characterized by the presence of a double layer of epithelial cells that are arranged in clefts, surrounded by a cellular, monomorphic spindle cell mesenchymal component.
(Benign Breast Phyllodes Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)
Then through the darkness I could see a sort of patch of grey light ahead of us, as though there were a cleft in the hills.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Inside the cleft was a second guidance mark, which pointed right up it with the tip somewhat elevated, as if the spot indicated were above the level of the ground.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It is characterized by the presence of epithelial structures which are arranged in clefts and by a hypercellular mesenchymal stroma which is organized in leaf-like structures.
(Benign Phyllodes Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)
From under clefts among the rocks I gathered a few dry sticks and chips.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
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