What does "gap" mean?
An opening in anything made by breaking or parting.
Gap
/ɡæp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An opening in anything made by breaking or parting.
- Grammar: gap is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: opening, hiatus, pause, space.
- Useful contrasts: brick walls, horizontal plane contact, linking action.
- Usage evidence: In the London underground there is a warning to "mind the gap" when boarding the train.
How to use "gap"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gap" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gap" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gap" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gap" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "opening" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gap", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An opening in anything made by breaking or parting.
"He made a gap in the fence by kicking at a weak spot."
- 2 Alternative form of gup (elected head of a gewog in Bhutan) alt-of, alternative
- 3 an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity wordnet
- 4 An opening allowing passage or entrance.
"We can slip through that gap between the buildings."
- 5 a narrow opening wordnet
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 An opening that implies a breach or defect.
"There is a gap between the roof and the gutter."
- 7 a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures wordnet
- 8 A vacant space or time.
"I have a gap in my schedule next Tuesday."
- 9 a difference (especially an unfortunate difference) between two opinions or two views or two situations wordnet
- 10 A hiatus, a pause in something which is otherwise continuous.
"I'm taking a gap."
- 11 a pass between mountain peaks; geomorphological term for the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks wordnet
- 12 A vacancy, deficit, absence, or lack.
"Their departure has left a gap in the workforce."
- 13 an open or empty space in or between things wordnet
- 14 A mountain or hill pass.
"The exploring party went through the high gap in the mountains."
- 15 A sheltered area of coast between two cliffs (mostly restricted to place names).
"At Birling Gap we can stop and go have a picnic on the beach."
- 16 The regions between the outfielders.
"Jones doubled through the gap."
- 17 The shortfall between the amount the medical insurer will pay to the service provider and the scheduled fee for the item. Australia
"Under bulk billing the patient does not pay a gap, and the medical practitioner receives 85% of the scheduled fee."
- 18 The disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities with regard to life expectancy, education, health, etc. Australia, literary, usually
- 19 An unsequenced region in a sequence alignment.
- 20 The vagina. euphemistic, slang
Verb
- 1 To notch, as a sword or knife. transitive
- 2 To stare or gape. US, dated, intransitive, slang, transitive
"Well, dey would all begin stretchin' and gappin', and den some of dem would say, with a gap and another stretch: […]"
- 3 make an opening or gap in wordnet
- 4 To make an opening in; to breach. transitive
- 5 To check the size of a gap. transitive
"I gapped all the spark plugs in my car, but then realized I had used the wrong manual and had made them too small."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To surpass (someone or something) by a considerable margin. especially, intransitive, slang, transitive
"Honestly K&C could release today with like a bit more SOT buffs and they'd probably still gap a lot of the game"
- 7 To leave suddenly. New-Zealand, slang
"[Article title:] 'They've just gapped it': Duo fled quarantine authorities after gang funeral"
- 8 To fall or spill open so as to leave a gap. intransitive
"The robe gaps open at the waist, breasts spilling out of a lacy bra that looks like she might have had it since her college days."
Proper Noun
- 1 A town, the capital of the department of Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
- 2 Initialism of Great Ape Project. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Antonyms
brick wallshorizontal plane contactlinking actionweatherproof seal
Example
"In the London underground there is a warning to "mind the gap" when boarding the train."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gap"?
Common synonyms include: opening, hiatus, pause, space, interstice, abysm.
How do you use "gap" in a sentence?
In the London underground there is a warning to "mind the gap" when boarding the train.
How do you pronounce "gap"?
Pronounced /ɡæp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gap, gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”). Doublet of gape.
Etymology 2
A variant of gape.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from French Gap.