lacuna

noun la·cu·na \ lə-ˈkü-nə , -ˈkyü- \

Updated on: 13 Mar 2018

Definition of lacuna

plural lacunae play \lə-ˈkyü-(ˌ)nē, -ˈkü-ˌnī\ also lacunas play \lə-ˈkü-nəz, -ˈkyü-\

1 : a blank space or a missing part : gap

the evident lacunae in his story
—Shirley Hazzard

also : deficiency 1

despite all these lacunae, those reforms were a vast improvement
—New Republic

2 : a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure

—

lacunar

play \lə-ˈkü-nər, -ˈkyü-\ or less commonly lacunate play \lə-ˈkü-nət, -ˈkyü-, -ˌnāt; ˈla-kyə-ˌnāt\ adjective

See lacuna defined for English-language learners

lacuna was our Word of the Day on 12/03/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of lacuna in a Sentence

She found a lacuna in the historical record.
attributes many of the nation's problems to a lacuna of leadership at the top

Recent Examples of lacuna from the Web

The hollow is rich and generative, a lacuna of a kind Ball has mastered.

— ellie robins, latimes.com, "Jesse Ball's 'Census' is an understated tale of a father and son taking stock of America," 9 Mar. 2018
But at least part of this outrage lacuna must be attributable to the distorting effects of partisanship.

— jonah goldberg, National Review, "American Nationalists Are Awfully Quiet about Russia," 16 Feb. 2018
Obviously the giant lacuna in that sort of analysis is that there was segregation in the country, the status of women, status of gay people, etc.

— isaac chotiner, Slate Magazine, "Why corporate America is so much more awful than it used to be.," 29 Sep. 2017
The lacuna bespeaks incuriosity about the wife of the great man, which Merz was at no pains to correct.

— peter schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "Marisa Merz’s Factory of Dreams," 30 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lacuna.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Exploring the etymology of lacuna involves taking a plunge into the pit - or maybe a leap into the "lacus" (that's the Latin word for "lake"). Latin speakers modified "lacus" into "lacuna," and used it to mean "pit," "cleft," or "pool." English speakers borrowed the term in the 17th century. Another English word that traces its origin to "lacuna" is "lagoon," which came to us by way of Italian and French.