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rift - 9 dictionary results

rift

  [rift]
Use rift in a Sentence
–noun
1. an opening made by splitting, cleaving, etc.; fissure; cleft; chink.
2. an open space, as in a forest or cloud mass, or a clear interval.
3. a break in friendly relations: a rift between two people; a rift between two nations.
4. a difference in opinion, belief, or interest that causes such a break in friendly relations.
5. Geology.
a. a fault.
b. a graben of regional extent.
6. the plane or direction along which a log or mass of granite can most easily be split.
7. wood or a piece of wood that has been split radially from a log.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
8. to burst open; split.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < ON ript breaking of an agreement (cf. Dan, Norw rift cleavage), deriv. of rīfa to tear (c. rive )

Related forms:
riftless, adjective

Synonyms:
3. breach, rupture, estrangement, falling-out.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rift 1   (rĭft)   
n.  
  1. A narrow fissure in rock.
  2. A break in friendly relations: a rift between siblings.
v.   rift·ed, rift·ing, rifts

v.   intr.
To split open; break.
v.   tr.
To cause to split open or break.

[Middle English, of Scandinavian origin.]
rift 2   (rĭft)   
n.  
  1. A shallow area in a waterway.
  2. The backwash of a wave that has broken upon a beach.

[Probably alteration of dialectal riff, reef, from Dutch rif, riffe; see reef1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Rift

Rift\, obs. p. p. of Rive. --Spenser.

Rift

Rift\, n. [Written also reft.] [Dan. rift, fr. rieve to rend. See Rive.]

1. An opening made by riving or splitting; a cleft; a fissure. --Spenser.

2. A shallow place in a stream; a ford.

Rift

Rift\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rifted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rifting.] To cleave; to rive; to split; as, to rift an oak or a rock; to rift the clouds. --Longfellow.

To dwell these rifted rocks between. --Wordsworth.

Rift

Rift\, v. i. 1. To burst open; to split. --Shak.

Timber . . . not apt to rif with ordnance. --Bacon.

2. To belch. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rift
Spanish: hendedura, grieta,
German: die Spalte,
Japanese: 裂け目
More Translations »

rift 
c.1300, from a Scand. source (cf. Dan., Norw. rift "a cleft," O.Icel. ript (pronounced "rift") "breach;" related to O.N. ripa "to break a contract" (see riven).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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rift   (rĭft)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A continental rift.
  2. A narrow break, crack, or other opening in a rock, usually made by cracking or splitting.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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