as in wide
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as in staring
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
she suddenly realized she had been gaping at the good-looking waiter instead of giving him her order
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Recent Examples of gaping
Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
If the absence of Succession has left a dark and gaping hole in your heart, formerly filled by the epic, desperate machinations of the one-percent: tune in.
—Vogue, 19 July 2024
Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The Soho location is one of the 11 REI shops that have unionized in the past few years, and its closure will leave a gaping hole in the market for the city’s gearheads looking to try on climbing shoes or find an ultralight tent for their next backpacking trip.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Adjective
Given that there is no witness to what happened, that leaves a very gaping hole in this investigation.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
If the absence of Succession has left a dark and gaping hole in your heart, formerly filled by the epic, desperate machinations of the one-percent: tune in.
—Vogue, 19 July 2024
Verb
This year, dozens of Bay Area school districts have announced layoffs, budget cuts or school closures in an effort to repair gaping budget deficits ranging from $6 million to over $100 million.
—Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
The Soho location is one of the 11 REI shops that have unionized in the past few years, and its closure will leave a gaping hole in the market for the city’s gearheads looking to try on climbing shoes or find an ultralight tent for their next backpacking trip.
—Clio Chang, Curbed, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for gaping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaping
Adjective
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The Sacramento Bee covered a wide range of news on June 11, from a critical city audit to a major land return for a Northern California tribe.—
Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
12 June 2026
-
Rooms All 53 rooms in the labyrinthine property are incredibly spacious with a wide variety of room configurations.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 June 2026
Verb
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The Knicks, staring basketball death in eye-to-eye, closed the third quarter on a 25-11 run.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
4 June 2026
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Arredondo refused, staring at the man with tears welling up in his eyes.—
Maria Aguilar Prieto,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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As such, anticipated spending cuts have not materialized and British Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announced tax hikes in her next Autumn Budget to fill a yawning fiscal hole that could be as much as £50 billion ($67.2 billion), although estimates vary.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
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Yet the shooting also divided the American public in ways that many found disturbing, including a yawning lack of empathy for the victim and even cheering for the shooter.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Shoppers are gawking at their climbing receipts as food costs continue to climb.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
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This seemingly reflexive action of whipping out their phones while gawking and filming isn’t a novel occurrence.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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The outer layers of the star will eventually cool and disperse, leaving a nebula of ex-stellar material surrounding the sun's core, which will then become an exposed cooling stellar remnant called a white dwarf.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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The objective is to reduce exposed equity within the entity in a lawful and structured manner.—
Ascend Agency,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Spieth was one year removed from his third major victory at age 24, and Brown was 10, gazing up at his golfing idol in awe — the wunderkind speaking to a soon-to-be sensation in his own right.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
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As a scorching wind tears across the barren, rocky slopes of Komote Island off the shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, Alfred Lenkutuk sits in the meager shelter of his hut, gazing out over the village where he was born and remembering better times.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gaping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaping. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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