Meanings
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1
noun
a deep crack or fissure in a glacier, ice sheet, or snowfield
The climbers roped together before crossing the hidden crevasse.
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2
noun
a deep cleft, crack, or narrow opening in a surface
Rainwater disappeared into a crevasse in the rock.
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3
noun
US, especially historical: a breach in a riverbank or levee
The flood widened the crevasse in the levee overnight.
Thesaurus
Etymology
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.