abyss

¹

[uh-bis]

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.

Abyss.

²

abbreviation

1. Abyssinia.

2. Abyssinian.

abyss

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of abyss¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of abyss¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek abussos bottomless (as in the phrase abussos limnē bottomless lake), from _a- ¹ + bussos depth

Example Sentences

“I’m supposed to know how to transmit information. Prices were moving so quickly I couldn’t get a fix. It felt like a black hole. The abyss.”

Read more on Literature

“The violation of the freedom to use international waters,” Khrushchev charged, “is an act of aggression which pushes mankind toward the abyss of a world nuclear missile war.”

Read more on Literature

The migratory sea creatures disappeared back down into the abyss.

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Billionaires, if you listen to politicians and their supporters, will either lead us to salvation on the mountaintop, or into the abyss.

Read more on MarketWatch

Not long ago, Gardner and Williams were reasons to hope that the Jets were close to clawing their way out of their perpetual abyss.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chasm 
• crevasse 
• depth 
• void