1
a
: an immeasurably deep gulf or great space
gazed down into the gaping abyss
the ocean's abysses
(figurative) a widening abyss between the rich and the poor
b
: intellectual or moral depths
an abyss of moral depravity
an abyss of despair
2
: the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies
Examples of abyss in a Sentence
looking down at the dark ocean from the ship's rail, the cruise passenger felt as though he was staring into an abyss
Recent Examples on the Web
But laughing in the face of the abyss can be good, too.
—
Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2025
Ask Tom Thibodeau, who this season dragged the Knicks — yes, the Knicks — out of the abyss and into their first Eastern Conference Finals since VHS tapes were a thing.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2025
Environmental concerns associated with each form of deep-sea mining are not limited to its effects on species that live in the deepest abysses of the ocean.
—Amber X. Chen, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2025
Mike Birbiglia’s The Good Life, Marc Maron’s Panicked, Cameron Esposito’s Four Pills, and Bill Burr’s Drop Dead Years are all hours of comedy about reckoning with mortality, and each in their own way is a lovely, absurd, painful depiction of someone staring into an abyss and choosing to laugh.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abyss
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Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2025
Ask Tom Thibodeau, who this season dragged the Knicks — yes, the Knicks — out of the abyss and into their first Eastern Conference Finals since VHS tapes were a thing.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2025
Environmental concerns associated with each form of deep-sea mining are not limited to its effects on species that live in the deepest abysses of the ocean.
—Amber X. Chen, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2025
Mike Birbiglia’s The Good Life, Marc Maron’s Panicked, Cameron Esposito’s Four Pills, and Bill Burr’s Drop Dead Years are all hours of comedy about reckoning with mortality, and each in their own way is a lovely, absurd, painful depiction of someone staring into an abyss and choosing to laugh.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abyss
Cite this Entry
“Abyss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyss. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
abyss
noun
: a gulf so deep or a space so great that it cannot be measured
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