What does chasm mean?
Word: Chasm
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Chasm means a very deep, wide crack in the ground, in rock or in ice.
How do you spell chasm?
Syllables: chasm
Tricky part: It begins with a k sound, but the spelling is c followed by a silent h, the way many words that came from Greek are spelt.
Watch out for: kasm, casm
Memory tip: Chorus, chemist, chasm: say them one after another. In each one the k sound at the start is written ch.
Chasm in a sentence
Example 1: A narrow chasm split the cliff, and a waterfall poured into it.
Example 2: Our guide pointed to a chasm so deep that we could not see the bottom.
Example 3: Over thousands of years the river cut a chasm through the soft rock.
Fun Fact
It comes from a Greek word for a wide, open gap, linked to a verb meaning to yawn. A chasm is almost the earth opening its mouth.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The explorers built a strong wooden bridge across the narrow chasum.
a) bridge
b) explorers
c) chasum
d) wooden
Show answer
c) chasum. You may hear a small uh sound before the m, but no vowel is written there.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) plateau
b) chazm
c) glacier
d) canyon
Show answer
b) chazm. The z sound in this word is written with an s.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
chasm
a) meadow
b) plain
c) gorge
d) summit
Show answer
c) gorge. A gorge is a deep, narrow valley, which is close to a chasm; a summit is the top of a hill, not a gap.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
csmha
a) chase
b) chasm
c) champ
d) charm
Show answer
b) chasm. Charm needs an r, chase an e and champ a p, so only one option uses exactly the letters of the jumble.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why would a hiking path go around a chasm instead of straight across it?
a) The path would then be far too short.
b) There is no ground to walk on in the middle.
c) The air above it is much too cold.
d) The grass there is too long to walk through.
Show answer
b) There is no ground to walk on in the middle.
2. A newspaper says there is a chasm between two teams' ideas. Their ideas are ____.
a) very new
b) very far apart
c) exactly the same
d) written down
Show answer
b) very far apart
