precipice

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Nature, Geology, Geography

pre·ci·pice /ˈpresɪpɪs/ noun [countable] 1 DNa very steep side of a high rock, mountain, or cliff 悬崖，峭壁 A loose rock tumbled over the precipice. 一块松动的岩石从悬崖上滚落下来。2 a dangerous situation in which something very bad could happen 危局，险境 The stock market is on the edge of a precipice. 股市岌岌可危。

Examples from the Corpus

precipice• Above me, a precipice of unbroken rock.• Resting his weight on his bended knee, he was staring motionless over a precipice towards the lake.• Ruth wanted to reach out and pull him back, as if he were moving towards a precipice.• The howlers were skirting the scary precipice of extinction.• I was privately grateful that it was too dark to make out the edge of the precipice.• A single unwise maneuver would have sent Robinson and his skiff plunging over the precipice.Origin precipice (1500-1600) French Latin praecipitium, from praeceps “headfirst”, from caput “head”

pre·ci·pice nounChineseSyllable

very a rock, or of high mountain, Corpus steep a side

precipice
pre‧ci‧pice /ˈpresəpəs, ˈpresɪpəs/

noun [countable]

Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: Latin praecipitium, from praeceps 'headfirst', from caput 'head'

1. a very steep side of a high rock, mountain, or cliff:

A loose rock tumbled over the precipice.
2. a dangerous situation in which something very bad could happen:

The stock market is on the edge of a precipice.

THESAURUS

   ▪ mountain a very high hill: the highest mountain in Austria
   ▪ hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, which is like a mountain but smaller and usually has a rounded top: We went for a walk in the hills. | The house is surrounded by woods, farmland and gentle hills.
   ▪ Mount (also Mt written abbreviation) used in the names of mountains. Don’t say ‘Fuji Mountain’ – say ‘Mount Fuji’: Mount Everest
   ▪ cliff the steep side of an area of land, often next to the sea: the white cliffs of Dover
   ▪ precipice especially literary a very steep and dangerous cliff: They were standing on the edge of a precipice.
   ▪ crag a high steep rock or mountain: An eagle sailed over the high crags.
   ▪ ridge a long narrow area of high ground, especially at the top of a mountain: I could see a group of climbers high up on a ridge.
   ▪ knoll a small round hill: a grassy knoll
   ▪ volcano a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which lava (=hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out: the eruption of a volcano
   ▪ summit the very highest point of a mountain: the summit of Mt Everest
   ▪ peak especially literary the top of a mountain: the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas | a distant peak
   ▪ range/chain a group of mountains or hills arranged in a line: the mountain range that is part of the border between Norway and Sweden
   ▪ foothills a group of smaller hills below a range of high mountains: the Sierra foothills

preci·pice

BrE

/ˈpresəpɪs/

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NAmE

/ˈpresəpɪs/

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noun