Tony Hillerman
Did you know?
What's the difference between a crevice and a crevasse?
Crevice and crevasse are very similar words: both come from Old French crever "to break or burst" and both refer to an opening of some kind. In fact, you can say that the only notable distinction between the two is the size of the openings they denote—and that one of them—crevice—is far more common than the other.
A crevice is a narrow opening resulting from a split or crack. In nature, crevices exist mostly in rocks and cliffs, but writers sometimes use the word for similar openings found in other materials, as in "crumbs in the crevices of the cushion." The word also is used metaphorically, as in "the cracks and crevices of memory."
Crevasse refers to a deep hole or fissure in a glacier or in the earth. In most instances, the word appears with enough context that the depth of the opening is easy enough to figure out, as in "a climber who fell 30 feet into a crevasse."
You'll sometimes find crevice used where crevasse is expected—probably because it's the word people are more familiar with. One way to remember the distinction between crevice and crevasse is that the i in crevice, the smaller hole, is a thinner letter than a in crevasse, the larger hole. Or, should you step into a crevasse, perhaps you'll have time for a lot of "Ahhhs"?
Examples of crevice in a Sentence
Hannah Beech Adam Ferguson, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
Biceps Curl Get into a half-kneeling position with your right knee down and your left foot flat on the ground; the mini band should be in the crevice of your left knee.
—Rozalynn S. Frazier, Health, 19 Apr. 2024
Use a damp cotton swab to clean the tight spaces, crevices, and corners of your pendant light fixture that have gathered dust or debris.
—USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
Smear the mixture all over the lamb and in any folds or crevices.
—Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
Strings accompany the usual sparse guitar as background vocals from other Black female country singers - Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts – soar through the crevices of the song.
—USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Or, for a deeper clean, Forté suggests wrapping the toothbrush in a disinfecting wipe and then brushing it through the crevices.
—Kalina Newman, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
This handheld vacuum comes with a dozen accessories, including tools for cleaning up the mattresses, above the furniture, or those stubborn couch crevices.
—Gabriela Vatu, PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024
Dens can be a steep bank, rock crevices, sinkholes or underbrush, according to the Forest Service.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crevice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Crevice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crevice. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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