gap

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a break in a barrier (such as a wall, hedge, or line of military defense)
b
: an assailable position
2
a
: a mountain pass
b
: ravine
3
4
a
: a separation in space
b
: an incomplete or deficient area
a gap in her knowledge
5
: a break in continuity : hiatus
6
: a break in the vascular cylinder of a plant where a vascular trace departs from the central cylinder
7
: lack of balance : disparity
the gap between imports and exports
8
: a wide difference in character or attitude
the generation gap
9
: a problem caused by some disparity
a communication gap
credibility gap
gappy adjective

gap

2 of 2

verb

gapped; gapping

transitive verb

1
: to make an opening in
2
: to adjust the space between the electrodes of (a spark plug)

intransitive verb

: to fall or stand open

Examples of gap in a Sentence

Noun The child had a gap between her two front teeth. The gap between the lead runner and the rest of the field continued to widen. The sheep got through a gap in the fence. There are unexplained gaps in his story. The class filled in the gaps in my knowledge of biology. She had taken several years off to raise a family, so there was a large gap in her work history.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
One big number: $525 billion The market cap gap between Microsoft and Apple, equal to the entire value of Tesla The stock of the once-most valuable company in the world, Apple, is down 7% this year. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 24 Mar. 2024 Riddle thinks tiny houses could help bridge the racial wealth gap by making home ownership possible for many families who can’t otherwise afford it. J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 24 Mar. 2024 Given that Trump was losing to Biden by about 4.5 points nationwide, the resulting gap between Ohio and the nation in terms of these candidates was a stunning 12.5 points. Ron Elving, NPR, 23 Mar. 2024 The nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federal’s approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans in 2022. Casey Tolan, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024 Large gaps that were 3/8 inches in size were seen in the wall around sewer pipes near a hand sink. Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024 Kelly recently said that the hope is that the state’s high-speed rail will eventually integrate with the Brightline rail, potentially filling a transit gap between stations. Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 But markets like Chicago, Dallas and Raleigh, North Carolina, are expected to see the gap between renting and buying return to pre-pandemic levels in the next five years, the report said. Elizabeth Schulze, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024 But analysts nonetheless note that the lower numbers in 2024 could indicate an enthusiasm gap among Republicans as Trump seeks to return to the White House. Lori Rozsa, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Verb
Conversely, if the numbers disappoint, the stock can easily gap down. Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong. Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 If the stock gaps up that will be bullish and can easily trigger another leg higher. Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023 These lend themselves to gap financing or seed financing situations. Patrick Frater, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023 But the panel gaps aside, production-ready versions of the Cybertruck aren’t without their defenders. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 29 Nov. 2023 To gap or not to gap After the final Apollo crewed flight in 1975, the US space agency had no capability to fly astronauts into space until the advent of the Space Shuttle in 1981. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023 Some customers did report having to exchange the bra for a better size in order to prevent any compression or gapping that lead to the flanges falling out. Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 18 Aug. 2023 In that, gap analysis – linking routes to destinations – will be a major focus, but the ultimate goal will be bringing all the areas together to benefit the region. Bran Strickland | , al, 10 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gap, gappe, borrowed from Old Norse gap "chasm, outcry," noun derivative of gapa "to gape entry 1"

Verb

derivative of gap entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1879, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gap was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near gap

Cite this Entry

“Gap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gap. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gap

noun
ˈgap
1
: a break in a barrier
2
a
: a mountain pass
b
: ravine
3
: a space or separation : a break in continuity
gaps in your story
a gap where the tooth had been
4
: a wide difference (as in amount, character, or attitude)
a wage gap

Medical Definition

gap

noun
: a break in continuity especially of structure : hiatus

More from Merriam-Webster on gap

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