crevasse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a deep crack or fissure in a glacier, ice sheet, or snowfield

   The climbers roped together before crossing the hidden crevasse.

2. 2
   noun

   a deep cleft, crack, or narrow opening in a surface

   Rainwater disappeared into a crevasse in the rock.

3. 3
   noun

   US, especially historical: a breach in a riverbank or levee

   The flood widened the crevasse in the levee overnight.

Borrowed from French crevasse, 'crack or fissure,' from crever, 'to split or burst.' It is a doublet of crevice. English specialized the word for deep cracks in glaciers while retaining broader and regional senses for fissures and breached riverbanks.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images