noun
crevasse
kruh-VAS/krəˈvæs/
A deep, open crack in a glacier or other mass of ice.
A deep crevasse cuts across the glacier ahead of the climbers.
Etymology
The French word for a crack was adopted for glacier fissures because crevice, its earlier English counterpart, had come to suggest too small an opening.
In context
when a crevasse has opened up in the ice melt water can gather in it and start hollowing its way down towards the bedrock
More examples
- Fresh snow hides the crevasse from view.
- The guide points out several crevasses in the ice.
- They change their route to avoid a wide crevasse.
Forms
crevasse · crevasses