noun
A steep rock face or coastal cliff. The basic physical meaning.
その崖は高さが100メートルもある。
That cliff is as high as 100 meters.
崖の上から海を見下ろした。
I looked down at the sea from the top of the cliff.
noun
brink of a dangerous situation; precipice (figurative)
Figurative use for being on the edge of a crisis or dangerous situation. Often in expressions like 崖っぷち.
会社は倒産の崖っぷちに立っている。
The company is on the brink of bankruptcy.
The kanji 崖 is a phono-semantic compound with 山 (mountain) and 厓 (cliff). The reading がけ is a native Japanese word.