abyss

/əˈbɪs/

//əˈbɪs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abyss" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abyss” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,066. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,066
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abyss · abyss · English

abyss · rank #17,066 · 6 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,066
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abandonment

Nearest frequency peer: abandonment (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abyss”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abyss” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abyss vs ass
60% similar
abyss vs amiss
60% similar
abyss vs amass
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abyss
PropertyValue
Headwordabyss
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈbɪs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,066
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abyss”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abysslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “abandonment” (#17,065), “accession” (#17,067), “Alvarez” (#17,069). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abyss” is #17,066. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around abyss (IPA /əˈbɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,066 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for abyss, with forms such as "abbyss", "absys", and "abys". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "ass", "amiss", "amass", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes. The correct English form is abyss, spelled A-B-Y-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
  2. 2
    A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
  3. 3
    Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
  4. 4
    Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
  5. 5
    An impending catastrophic happening.
  6. 6
    The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
  7. 7
    The abyssal zone.
  8. 8
    A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abyss appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!'
  2. Below is the deep abyss of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and at its head a stately semi-circle of mountains, with the pyramidal Lauterbrunnen Breithorn as the centre-piece.

Etymology

From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English neowolnes.

This word in other languages

abismo(Español)abîme(Français)Abgrund(Deutsch)abismo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbyss
  • absys
  • abys
  • abyyss
  • aybss
  • bayss

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abyss - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abbyss1absys2abys1abyyss1aybss2bayss2
Edit distance from "abyss"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abyss"?
"abyss" is spelled A-B-Y-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɪs/.
What does "abyss" mean?
As a noun, "abyss" means: Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
What words are commonly confused with "abyss"?
"abyss" is commonly confused with "ass", "amiss", "amass". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abyss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abyss" is /əˈbɪs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abyss"?
From Middle English abissus, from Late Latin abyssus (“a bottomless gulf”), from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos, “bottomless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βυσσός (bussós, “deep place”), from βυθός (buthós, “deep place”). Displaced native Old English ne... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abyss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Alvin#17,070Wolfe#17,060arson#17,076basal#17,082

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

rink6 variantsprob6 variantspiled6 variantsfeng6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list