crevasse

American  

[kruh-vas] / krəˈvæs /

noun

1. a fissure, or deep cleft, in glacial ice, the earth's surface, etc.

2. a breach in an embankment or levee.

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verb (used with object)

crevassed, crevassing

1. to fissure with crevasses.

crevasse British  

/ krɪˈvæs /

noun

1. a deep crack or fissure, esp in the ice of a glacier

2. a break in a river embankment

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verb

1. (tr) to make a break or fissure in (a dyke, wall, etc)

crevasse Scientific  

/ krĭ-văs′ /

1. A deep fissure in a glacier or other body of ice. Crevasses are usually caused by differential movement of parts of the ice over an uneven topography.

2. A large, deep fissure in the Earth caused by an earthquake.

3. A wide crack or breach in the bank of a river. Crevasses usually form during floods.

4. ◆ The sediments that spill out through the crevasse and fan out along the external margin of the river's bank form a crevasse splay deposit.

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Other Word Forms

• uncrevassed adjective

Etymology

Origin of crevasse

1805–15, < French; crevice

Compare meaning

How does crevasse compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• crevasse vs. crevice

Example Sentences

The dragon will give Mae the flower, but first she must rescue his son, which has fallen down a crevasse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

Ondrej Huserka fell into a crevasse on Thursday, after he and his climbing partner ascended the Lantang Lirung mountain in the Himalayas – the 99th-highest peak in the world.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2024

To Byatt, maternal mental health is not a gap but a crevasse.

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2024

He described a near-death plunge into a crevasse when he failed to detect it beneath a blanket of snow.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2024

A crevasse yawned on her right, falling away into darkness.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

• abyss
• chasm
• fissure