precipice

noun

prec·​i·​pice ˈpre-s(ə-)pəs 

1

: a very steep or overhanging place

2

: a hazardous situation

broadly : brink

Synonyms

• barranca
• barranco
• bluff
• cliff
• crag
• escarpment
• palisade
• scar
• scarp

Examples of precipice in a Sentence

Twenty years ago, it seemed unlikely that black and white South Africans could avoid a cataclysmic struggle. How did we manage to turn back from the precipice and join one another in the long walk to a nonracial democracy? —F. W. De Klerk, Time, 18 Apr. 2005

These are the brave, friendly guys and gals who flip, twist, spin and somersault themselves backward into the sky and somehow land on a horrifyingly steep precipice without rearranging their rib cages or breaking their faces. —Curry Kirkpatrick, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 1994

… the helpless Cambodians were bused from the safety of a refugee camp to an outcropping along the border several hundred miles to the northeast, where they were forced over the precipice into a wild and inaccessible part of Cambodia from which it would be almost impossible to return to Thailand. —Barbara Crossette, New York Times Book Review, 2 Aug. 1987

He stood on the edge of the precipice.

scaled the steep precipice with the ease of an experienced climber

Recent Examples on the Web

Much like his split from Spears, while Jackson, now 58, was thrown under the bus, Timberlake came away not only unscathed but on the precipice of even greater stardom. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 19 June 2024

How did Paramount Global, endowed with one of Hollywood’s founding studios, a leading broadcast network and a suite of cable networks that were an essential component of the pay-TV lineup, find itself on the precipice of selling for a fraction of its once-lofty valuations? —Todd Spangler, Variety, 19 June 2024

Disappointing offensive performances have left Edmonton on the precipice of an embarrassing sweep. —Sam Joseph, CNN, 15 June 2024

In the sequel out this week, life is getting even more complicated as Riley (Kensington Tallman) is on the precipice of puberty. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 12 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from Latin praecipitium, from praecipit-, praeceps headlong, from prae- + caput head — more at head

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing precipice

• on the edge of a precipice

Kids Definition

precipice

noun

prec·​i·​pice ˈpres-(ə-)pəs 

: a very steep and high face of a rock or mountain