hiatus

1 an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge) steam was rising from an hiatus in the ground Synonyms breach, break, discontinuity, gulf, gap, hole, interstice, interval, opening, rent, rift, separation, voidRelated Words chink, cleft, crack, cranny, crevice, fissure; notch, slit, slot, split; interspace, pore; abyss, aperture, cavity, chasm, gape, orifice; fracture, rupture, severance, sundering

2 an incomplete or deficient area a hiatus in the law which prevented the district attorney from prosecuting the offenders Synonyms gap, hole, lacuna, space, voidRelated Words defectiveness, detriment, disability, failing, fault, impairment, weakness; deficiency, deficit, imperfection, inadequacy, inadequateness, incompleteness, insufficience, insufficiency, lack, need, shortcoming, shortfall, wantNear Antonyms completeness, fullness

3 a break in continuity a three-year hiatus before the fifth book in the series appeared Synonyms discontinuity, gap, hiccup (also hiccough), interim, interlude, intermission, interregnum, interruption, interstice, interval, parenthesisRelated Words caesura, comma, interspace, lag, pause, space, time lag, window; entr'acte; bumper; adjournment, discontinuance, lapse, suspension; lull, recess, respite, rest; subintervalNear Antonyms continuum, run, stretch; procession, progressionAntonyms continuation, continuity