Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kloof

/kluf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.81 in modern English

Syllables: kloof
IPA: /kluf/

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A deep glen or ravine.

Example Sentences

"Forming the south boundary of the valley is a range of disrupted bushy hills, with intervening deep and rugged kloofs and ravines, which constituted the retreat of Jan Pockbaas and his rebel banditti."
"The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof."
"Occasionally the narrow dirt road rose above the mist on the slopes of the high round hills, from where one looked down on the silver clouds in the valleys and kloofs below, a magical, incredible sight."

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch kloof (“ravine”) (South Africa). Doublet of clove (“deep or narrow valley”).

Origin

Source language: Dutch

Word Breakdown

Root: *glewbʰ-, kloof

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kluf/
British English: /kluf/

Inflected Forms

kloofs (plural)

Derived Forms

kloofing

Questions

How do you pronounce kloof?: The recorded pronunciation is /kluf/.
What does kloof mean?: A deep glen or ravine.
Where does kloof come from?: It is traced to Dutch.

How to pronounce kloof

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kloof”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kluf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kloof”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kloof” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.