gap

1 of 2

noun

ˈgap 

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

: spark gap

4

a

: a separation in space

b

: an incomplete or deficient area

a gap in her knowledge

5

: a break in continuity : hiatus

6

: lack of balance : disparity

the gap between imports and exports

7

: a wide difference in character or attitude

the generation gap

8

: a problem caused by some disparity

a communication gap

credibility gap

gappy

ˈga-pē 

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

Synonyms of gap

Noun

• hole
• crevice
• opening
• rift
• interval
• void

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

The exchange came as the county office projects the district will need to close a $150 million gap by June 2027 to avoid a state takeover. — Chaewon Chung updated July 31, Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Everything since has come from that - the Dispelling the Myths series from 2001, the training work at Panos Caribbean, and in 2008 EVE for Life, when my own research showed me that adolescent girls and young women were the gap nobody was filling. — Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Verb

The rally then produced a sharp pullback, with price gapping down into a brief consolidation before buyers gapped it right back out of that range, leaving gaps on both sides of the dip. — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Whatever gaps the boycott left were filled in a hall packed with young soldiers, bereaved families and survivors from the Entebbe raid, and the veterans who chose to attend. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 13 July 2026

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

Phrases Containing gap

• bridge the gap
• close the gap
• credibility gap
• gap junction
• gap-toothed
• gap year
• generation gap
• spark gap
• trade gap
• water gap
• wind gap

Rhymes for gap

• app
• cap
• chap
• clap
• crap
• flap
• frap
• hap
• lap
• nap
• nappe
• pap

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

ˈgap 

: a break in continuity especially of structure : hiatus