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• abyss
  abyss

  noun

  a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.
• Abyss.
  Abyss.

  abbreviation

  Abyssinia.

abyss

¹ American  

[uh-bis] / əˈbɪs /

noun

• abysses
  plural

1. a deep, immeasurable space, gulf, or cavity; vast chasm.

2. anything that seems to be without end or is impossible to measure, define, or comprehend.

   the abyss of their grief and sorrow.

3. (in ancient cosmogony)

   1. the primal chaos before Creation.

   2. the infernal regions; hell.

   3. a subterranean ocean.

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Abyss. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Abyssinia.

2. Abyssinian.

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abyss British  

/ əˈbɪs /

noun

1. a very deep or unfathomable gorge or chasm

2. anything that appears to be endless or immeasurably deep, such as time, despair, or shame

3. hell or the infernal regions conceived of as a bottomless pit

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• abysses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of abyss

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”

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abyss abysses

Asked if we had stepped back from the "abyss" cited by both Lockhart and a High Court Judge in reference to last week's court proceedings, Lockhart was firm that no progress had yet been made.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

“An abyss opened in our country,” Machado said, describing a surge of public anger at the faltering government response.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

But I’m blown away by how “It Ends” reaches into the abyss of contemporary living and pulls out something tangible for us to chew on.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 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

“Let’s hope. Unfortunately there’s often a deep, wide abyss between good intentions and concrete action. And as unfair as it is, after a few days any story becomes old news.”

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

At his debut press conference, he vowed to face down "multitudinous minefields and 30,000-metre abysses" in reforming China.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

Ripples of electronic feedback crest into peaks and valleys of stretched echoes, decayed into hollowed abysses.

From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2022

Parker and company don’t rush into any flaming abysses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2021

“There are abysses which we dare not sound, and characters we desire not to fathom, for fear of finding in them too great darkness, too much horror.”

From Martyria or Andersonville Prison by Augustus C. Hamlin

Related Words

• chasm
• crevasse
• depth
• void