Definition of "precipitous"

precipitous

/pɹɪˈsɪpɪtəs/

adjective
1. Steep, like a precipice
  Quotations
  About this time our journey began to be pleasant again. The weather warm, yet not disagreeably so, the grass abundant and of an excellent quality, the road not greatly precipitous, the scenery enchanting.
  1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 34
2. Headlong
3. Hasty; rash; quick; sudden
  Quotations
  […] humans have been responsible for a precipitous decline of elephants, from perhaps 300,000 in the early 1970s to some 10,000 today.
  2007 March, J. Michael Fay, “Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma”, in National Geographic, page 46