precipice

American  

[pres-uh-pis] / ˈprɛs ə pɪs /

noun

1. a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face.

2. a situation of great peril.

   on the precipice of war.

---

precipice British  

/ ˈprɛsɪpɪs /

noun

1. 1. the steep sheer face of a cliff or crag

   2. the cliff or crag itself

2. a precarious situation

---

Other Word Forms

• precipiced adjective
• unprecipiced adjective

Etymology

Origin of precipice

1590–1600; < Middle French < Latin praecipitium steep place, equivalent to praecipit- (stem of praeceps ) steep, headlong ( prae- pre- + -cipit-, combining form of caput head; caput ) + -ium -ium

Example Sentences

They demolished Slovakia on Friday and are now on the precipice of finally capturing the gold medal they’ve been chasing for nearly five decades.

From The Wall Street Journal

This elliptical approach is in part its strength, subtly illuminating how trying to move past one tragedy may bring a family to the precipice of another.

From The Wall Street Journal

There is no doubting the "peril" he was in, nor that Labour MPs "looked over the precipice" and considered ditching the prime minister.

From BBC

But today, we stand on the precipice of something different: deepfakes and AI-generated content indistinguishable from reality.

From The Wall Street Journal

For example, if the economy is “on the precipice of a productivity boom,” then the economic activity could run strong with less demand for labor.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bluff
• cliff
• crag