precipice

American  

[pres-uh-pis] / ˈprɛs ə pɪs /

noun

• precipices
  plural

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

2. a situation of great peril.

   on the precipice of war.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• precipiced
  adjective
• unprecipiced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• precipices
  plural

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; see caput) + -ium -ium

Explanation

Cartoon characters often end up on a precipice, the edge of a steep cliff, where their chubby toes curl and cling as they totter and eventually fall, making a hole in the ground below and getting up again. Most real people avoid precipices. Unless you're a skilled climber or mountain-sport enthusiast, a precipice is a scary thing. Some imagine falling off and making the sharp drop, while others get dizzy just thinking about looking down. This makes sense, considering that the 17th-century English word precipice comes, through French, from Latin words meaning "headlong" and "abrupt descent." In modern use, precipice also describes how it feels to fall, or fail, in areas of life that don't involve mountains, such as being "on the precipice of losing everything."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

precipice precipices

At the precipice of the financial crisis, the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with their implicit government guarantee and imprimatur, either securitized or guaranteed roughly half of all mortgages in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

When England were behind to DR Congo in the last 32, it was Kane's late double that pulled them away from the precipice.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Maxine glides along, bathed in gratitude, making assured artistic decisions and certain that she is on the precipice of something that will change her life forever.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

The band members are also at the precipice of something they thought impossible: a music career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026

Helpless, Penelope stood like a statue, not daring to take a step lest she tumble off some unseen precipice.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Most of the sheep huddle in sleep, while the more adventurous ones and, predictably, the goats perch on rocky precipices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

In addition to groundwater depletion, rising insurance costs and extreme heat, the U.N. report highlights melting glaciers, ecosystem collapse and space debris as systems nearing precipices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

Landslides in Himachal Pradesh killed more than 50 people this month, with houses flattened and buses and cars hanging on the edge of precipices after roads gave way.

From Reuters ● Aug. 24, 2023

Too much focus on targets like 1.5°C can backfire if they are seen as precipices beyond which there is no redemption, says Tebaldi: “People feel this sense of disempowerment.”

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 9, 2021

“The colossus lay like a medieval castle, built in the most inaccessible place, protected by precipices and rivers.”

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• bluff
• cliff
• crag