precipice
Syllables: preci·pice/ˈpɹɛsɪpɪs/
precipice noun: a very steep cliff.
Noun
precipice (plural precipices)
- A very steep cliff.
- I resolved to remove my tent from the place where it stood, which was just under the hanging precipice of the hill; and which, if it should be shaken again, would certainly fall upon my tent[…]1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC
- The brink of a dangerous situation.
- to stand on a precipice
- In emailed comments supporting the new initiative, the laureate professor Noam Chomsky said: “Humans are marching towards a precipice. When we reach it, unthinkable catastrophe is inevitable. […]”2022 September 14, Arthur Neslen, quoting Noam Chomsky, “Health groups call for global fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty”, in The Guardian
- A headlong fall or descent.
precipice meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
precipice in Hindi
- very steep cliff
- खड़ी चट्टान khaṛī caṭṭān, दरद darad
precipice in Tamil
- செங்குத்துப் பாறை, குத்துமலை, குத்துமலைச்சாய்வு
precipice in Urdu
- ڈھلواں کنارہ
precipice in Bengali
- খাড়া পাহাড়, গভীর গিরিখাত
More languagesFewer languages
- precipice in Malayalam
- ചെങ്കുത്തായ ഗിരിപാർശ്വം
- precipice in Kannada
- ಪ್ರಪಾತ, ಕಡಿದಾದ ಮುಖ, ಇಳುಕಲು, ಕಮ್ಮರಿ
- precipice in Sanskrit
- पर्शान parśāna
- precipice in Indonesian
- gawir
Examples of precipice in a sentence
- He is standing on the edge of a precipice.
- He teetered on the brink of the precipice.
- Up and round and through caves and out over precipices at a million miles an hour.
Synonyms of precipice
Forms of precipice
| plural | precipices |
|---|---|
| alternative form | præcipice |
Origin of precipice
First attested in 1598, from Middle French precipice, from Latin praecipitium (“a steep place”), from praeceps (“steep”), from prae + caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Distantly related to precept through Latin praecipiō (“to teach”), from prae + capiō (“take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-, *keh₂p- (“to hold; to seize”).
Words formed from precipice
Phrases with precipice
Questions about precipice
- What does precipice mean?
- Precipice means a very steep cliff.
- What is precipice in Hindi?
- Precipice in Hindi is खड़ी चट्टान (khaṛī caṭṭān), दरद (darad). See Precipice meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is precipice?
- Precipice is a noun.
- How do you pronounce precipice?
- Precipice is pronounced /ˈpɹɛsɪpɪs/.
- What is the plural of precipice?
- The plural of precipice is precipices.
Words near precipice in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: precipice (page history and authors); precipice (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); precipice (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); precipice (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); precipice (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); precipice (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-precipice.wav.
Cite this entry: “precipice.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/precipice. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.