a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
anything that seems to be without end or is impossible to measure, define, or comprehend.
the abyss of their grief and sorrow.
(in ancient cosmogony)
the primal chaos before Creation.
the infernal regions; hell.
a subterranean ocean.
Abyssinia.
Abyssinian.
a very deep or unfathomable gorge or chasm
anything that appears to be endless or immeasurably deep, such as time, despair, or shame
hell or the infernal regions conceived of as a bottomless pit
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus, from Greek ábyssos “bottomless,” equivalent to a- a- 6 + byssós “bottom of the sea”
The noun abyss refers to a deep void or chasm — either literal or figurative. Making a momentous life decision with great uncertainty, like enrolling in clown college, might feel like jumping into the abyss. Traditionally, the abyss referred to the "bottomless pit" of Hell. Now it might refer to either a literal chasm or a figurative one: "Thirty years ago, we peered into this abyss and pulled back just in time." The word is sometimes used to describe a wide difference between cultures or nations. Abyss comes from Greek: a- "without" + byssos, "depth, bottom." You may know the related adjective abysmal, which means "appallingly bad" — or "way down in the depths," as it were.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even Miguel de Cervantes’s aging Don Quixote is driven into a phantasmagoric abyss by the reading of chivalrous romance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
"Each new format seems to bring us closer and closer to that abyss."
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
This whole Western Conference semifinal series against these defending champions has been a lose-lose proposition for the Lakers, who are now down 3-0 and staring into the elimination abyss in Game 4 on Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
So it is worth taking a moment to stare into the abyss and think through what the world—and your investment portfolio—might look like if the strait still isn’t open by Labor Day or by Christmas.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
The boy on the platform peeks over the edge as if into a swirling abyss and shuts his eyes.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
And while the play never explicitly explores its underlying theme—that music can help bridge the gaps, or the abysses, that divide people—the deft integration of story and song illuminates it naturally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
“Bad Kind of Butterflies,” with a breathy vocal that tiptoes above furtive keyboards and deep bass abysses, is well aware of Billie Eilish.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2019
Tux is philosophically speculative, delivering aphoristic riffs that reveal Kierkegaardian abysses in such daily trivialities as a campfire, and mini marshmallows in cocoa.
From The New Yorker ● May 28, 2019
In other words, they seek the sharpening of distinctions everywhere, which means the opening of abysses where complexity and interaction once existed.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2015
Swept on by the wind to the neighbouring coast they formed themselves into transparent islands, separating abysses of deep-blue sky studded with stars.
From Autumn Glory The Toilers of the Field by Bazin, Ren?
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.
