abyss

noun

ə-ˈbis 

a-,

 also  ˈa-(ˌ)bis

1

a

: an immeasurably deep gulf or great space

gazed down into the gaping abyss

the ocean's abysses

(figurative) a widening abyss between the rich and the poor

b

: intellectual or moral depths

an abyss of moral depravity

an abyss of despair

2

: the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies

Synonyms

• abysm
• chasm
• deep
• gulf
• ocean

Examples of abyss in a Sentence

looking down at the dark ocean from the ship's rail, the cruise passenger felt as though he was staring into an abyss

Recent Examples on the Web

In four lines, the poetry soars and plummets, travels up into the cosmos and back down into the abyss. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025

There is the abyss of self-doubt and insecurity on one hand, the desire to create something unique and universally admired on the other, and jealousy and envy in the middle. —Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025

But as anybody working as a music creator knows, creating the music is only the start in a series of dancing monkey chores to make sure my work doesn’t disappear into the abyss. —Kay Hanley, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025

With the death of our local paper, where will local citizens get the information needed to keep us from a dark abyss where lies become truth and truth becomes lies? —Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin abyssus, borrowed from Greek ábyssos "bottomless, unfathomable, (as noun) bottomless gulf," from a- a- entry 2 + byssós "depth of the sea," probably going back to *byth-yos, derivative of bythós "depth, deepest part, bottom," probably of pre-Greek substratal origin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for abyss

• amiss
• chlamys
• dismiss
• premiss
• remiss
• bis
• bliss
• criss
• dis
• diss
• hiss
• kiss

Kids Definition

abyss

noun

ə-ˈbis 

: a gulf so deep or a space so great that it cannot be measured