Abseil

//ˈɑpˌzaɪl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A descent in mountaineering using a rope looped at the top and a friction device.
  2. 2
    (mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To descend a steep or vertical drop using a rope with a mechanical friction device or (classic abseil) by wrapping the rope around the body; to rappel. intransitive

    "Although only five miles north of Winchester, the tunnel is in a rural location with no road access. Contractors were only able to reach the site after cutting through thick vegetation and abseiling down the slope on ropes."

  2. 2
    descend by means of a rappel wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
rappelrappelrappelrope down

Example

More examples

"Although only five miles north of Winchester, the tunnel is in a rural location with no road access. Contractors were only able to reach the site after cutting through thick vegetation and abseiling down the slope on ropes."

Etymology

From German abseilen, from ab- (“down”) + Seil (“rope”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.