(intransitive) To form a rift; to split open. / (transitive) To cleave; to rive; to split.

A chasm or fissure. / A break in the clouds, fog, mist etc., which allows light through. / A shallow place in a stream; a ford.

(obsolete outside Scotland and northern UK) To belch.

past participle of rive

present participle of rift

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of rift

plural of rift

simple past tense and past participle of rift

(geology) A graben structure between two tectonic plates which are opening relative to each other. / (geology) A mid-oceanic ridge system with central valleys.

A feature of some volcanoes, especially the shield volcanoes of Hawaii, in which a linear series of fissures in the volcanic edifice allows lava to erupt from the volcano's flank instead of from its summit.