precipice
Americannoun
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a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face.
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a situation of great peril.
on the precipice of war.
noun
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the steep sheer face of a cliff or crag
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the cliff or crag itself
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a precarious situation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of precipice
1590–1600; < Middle French < Latin praecipitium steep place, equivalent to praecipit- (stem of praeceps ) steep, headlong ( prae- pre- + -cipit-, combining form of caput head; see caput) + -ium -ium
Explanation
Cartoon characters often end up on a precipice, the edge of a steep cliff, where their chubby toes curl and cling as they totter and eventually fall, making a hole in the ground below and getting up again. Most real people avoid precipices. Unless you're a skilled climber or mountain-sport enthusiast, a precipice is a scary thing. Some imagine falling off and making the sharp drop, while others get dizzy just thinking about looking down. This makes sense, considering that the 17th-century English word precipice comes, through French, from Latin words meaning "headlong" and "abrupt descent." In modern use, precipice also describes how it feels to fall, or fail, in areas of life that don't involve mountains, such as being "on the precipice of losing everything."
Vocabulary lists containing precipice
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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A Spelling Bee for Fun
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In his 2020 book "The Precipice," Ord waxes poetic about how reengineering the human organism could enable us to transform "existing human capacities — empathy, intelligence, memory, concentration, imagination."
From Salon • Nov. 20, 2022
Mental health activist and author of "The Precipice of Mental Health: Becoming Your Own Safe Space," Achea Redd recommends finding time to do something creative or spending time outside.
From Fox News • Feb. 25, 2022
The two escapees were captured on Mount Precipice, a Christian holy site near the Arab city of Nazareth, in northern Israel, the spokeswoman said in a statement.
From Reuters • Sep. 10, 2021
One novel was called Ethics on the Precipice.
From The Guardian • Feb. 13, 2018
Diagoras, the Usurer, in Love with his Cook-Maid; he peeped several times over the Precipice, but his Heart misgiving him, he went back, and married her that Evening.
From The Spectator, Volume 2. by Addison, Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
