precipice

noun3

1. •
   A very steep cliff.

   • I resolved to remove my tent from the place where it stood, which was just under the hanging precipice of the hill; and which, if it should be shaken again, would certainly fall upon my tent[…] — 1719
2. •
   (figurative) The brink of a dangerous situation.

   • In emailed comments supporting the new initiative, the laureate professor Noam Chomsky said: “Humans are marching towards a precipice. When we reach it, unthinkable catastrophe is inevitable. […]” — 2022
3. •
   (no longer used) A headlong fall or descent.