abyss

¹ American  

[uh-bis] / əˈbɪs /

noun

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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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”

Example Sentences

Yes, he has managed to get both because he has a good, long-term job, and he’s slowly crawling out of the abyss.

From MarketWatch

Christopher swung in a long, fevered parabola and landed on hands and knees on the other side of the abyss.

From Literature

But instead of getting devoured by the abyss, he says over Zoom, he honed in on making something “unknown.”

From Los Angeles Times

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

The war years were perhaps the darkest in all of human history, but the musicians and singers on these tracks are partying on in the face of the abyss.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chasm
• crevasse
• depth
• void