crevasse
[ kruh-vas ]
/ krəˈvæs /
noun
a fissure, or deep cleft, in glacial ice, the earth's surface, etc.
a breach in an embankment or levee.
verb (used with object), cre·vassed, cre·vas·sing.
to fissure with crevasses.
Nearby words
creuse, creusot, le, creutzfeldt-jakob disease, crevalle, crevalle jack, crevasse, creve coeur, crevice, crevicular, crew, crew chief
Origin of crevasse
Related formsun·cre·vassed, adjective
Can be confusedcrevice crevasse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for crevasse
British Dictionary definitions for crevasse
crevasse
/ (krɪˈvæs) /
noun
a deep crack or fissure, esp in the ice of a glacier
US a break in a river embankment
verb
(tr) US to make a break or fissure in (a dyke, wall, etc)
Word Origin for crevasse
C19: from French: crevice
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for crevasse
crevasse
1823, of glaciers; 1814, of riverbanks (in that case from Louisiana French), from French crevasse, from Old French crevace "crevice" (see crevice). Essentially the same word as crevice, but re-adopted in senses for which the meaning that had taken hold in crevice was felt to be too small.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for crevasse
crevasse
[ krĭ-văs′ ]
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.
A large, deep fissure in the Earth caused by an earthquake.
A wide crack or breach in the bank of a river. Crevasses usually form during floods.♦ 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.