abyss
a·byss/əˈbɪs/noun
abyss is spelled A-B-Y-S-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables (a·byss). It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, abyss means “Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of abyss is abysses.
How many letters and syllables are in abyss?
| Letters | 5: A-B-Y-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: a·byss |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abyss?
Abyss appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abyss?
- UK /əˈbɪs/
- US /əˈbɪs/
- US /æˈbɪs/
Abyss has 2 syllables, split a·byss in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abyss.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with abyss?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as abyss from its last stressed vowel (/ɪs/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bassy.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of abyss
- abysses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abyss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Hell; the bottomless pit; primeval chaos; a confined subterranean ocean.
- 2
A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any deep, immeasurable; any void space.
- 3
Anything infinite, immeasurable, or profound.
- 4
Moral depravity; vast intellectual or moral depth.
They fell into the abyss of drug addiction.
- 5
An impending catastrophic happening.
- 6
The center of an escutcheon; fess point.
- 7
The abyssal zone.
- 8
A difference, especially a large difference, between groups.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abyss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abîme , précipice, abysse, gouffre |
| German | Abgrund, Hölle |
| Portuguese | abismo, abisso |
| Spanish | abismo , sima |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abyss come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).