Gaping

//ˈɡeɪpɪŋ// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of one who gapes.

    "M. Le Gallois considers these gapings, which continue for some time after decapitation, as the vain efforts of the head for respiration."

  2. 2
    Something gaping; something agape.
  3. 3
    A threat or courtship behavior in animals involving holding the mouth open and displaying the teeth or other interior features.
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of gape form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 1
    Wide open.

    "There’s a gaping hole in the fence."

  2. 2
    Having the jaw wide open, as in astonishment or stupefaction.

    "The men who stood behind the scenes and worked the religious puppet-show by hidden wires to the awe and astonishment of the gaping vulgar."

Adjective
  1. 1
    with the mouth wide open as in wonder or awe wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abysmalabyssalagapeagapeaghastagog

Example

More examples

"She was gaping at their quarrel."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English gaping, gapynge, variants of Middle English gapand, gapande, equivalent to gape + -ing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English gapynge, equivalent to gape + -ing.

Related phrases

wide open

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