crevasse

[ kruh-vas ]

noun

1. a fissure, or deep cleft, in glacial ice, the earth's surface, etc.
2. a breach in an embankment or levee.

verb (used with object)

, cre·vassed, cre·vas·sing.

1. to fissure with crevasses.

crevasse

/ krɪˈvæs /

noun

1. a deep crack or fissure, esp in the ice of a glacier
2. a break in a river embankment

verb

1. tr to make a break or fissure in (a dyke, wall, etc)

crevasse

/ krĭ-văs′ /

1. A deep fissure in a glacier or other body of ice. Crevasses are usually caused by differential movement of parts of the ice over an uneven topography.
2. A large, deep fissure in the Earth caused by an earthquake.
3. A wide crack or breach in the bank of a river. Crevasses usually form during floods.
4. ◆ The sediments that spill out through the crevasse and fan out along the external margin of the river's bank form a crevasse splay deposit.

Other Words From

• un·cre·vassed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of crevasse¹

1805–15, Americanism; < French; crevice

Word History and Origins

Origin of crevasse¹

C19: from French: crevice

Example Sentences

While repelling a mountain wall, Mr Huserka’s thread cracked and he fell into an ice crevasse, he partner said.

From BBC

Three more bodies were recovered from within the crevasses of the glacier.

From BBC

To Byatt, maternal mental health is not a gap but a crevasse.

From Salon

There’s a point being made there: His wrinkles and crevasses echo the landscape, which has also been shaped by time and forces of nature.

From New York Times

He described a near-death plunge into a crevasse when he failed to detect it beneath a blanket of snow.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• abyss
• chasm
• fissure