# abyss

> English word · Noun · IPA /əˈbɪs/ · frequency rank #17,066

## Definitions
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.
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.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **ass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abyss-vs-ass)
- **amiss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abyss-vs-amiss)
- **amass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abyss-vs-amass)
- **Alyssa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abyss-vs-alyssa)
- **abs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abs-vs-abyss)
- **abuse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abuse-vs-abyss)
- **abbas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abbas-vs-abyss)
- **abuses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/abuses-vs-abyss)

## Common misspellings (6)
`abbyss`, `absys`, `abys`, `abyyss`, `aybss`, `bayss`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/abyss