gap

/gæp/

/gæp/

Other forms: gaps; gapped; gapping

A gap is the space between two things. It can be physical (like "the gap between your two front teeth") or philosophical (like "the generation gap" between you and your parents).

Gap is a small word that packs a lot; it can be used in a straightforward manner: in England, the signs in the subway station say, "Mind the gap" — in hopes that passengers will not wander into the space between the train and the platform. The American retailer, "The Gap," is said to have taken its name from the generation gap. The clothes were designed for teenagers and young adults, and therefore nothing your middle-aged parents would be caught dead in. Times change.

Definitions of gap

1. noun

   an open or empty space in or between things
   “the explosion made a gap in the wall”

   synonyms: opening

   types:

   pocket

   an opening at the corner or on the side of a billiard table into which billiard balls are struck

   diastema

   a gap or vacant space between two teeth

   Ranvier's nodes, nodes of Ranvier

   small gaps in the myelin sheath of medullated axons

   foramen, hiatus

   a natural opening or perforation through a bone or a membranous structure

   breach

   an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification)

   chasm

   a deep opening in the earth's surface

   cleft, crack, crevice, fissure, scissure

   a long narrow opening

   hole

   an opening into or through something

   mouth

   an opening that resembles a mouth (as of a cave or a gorge)

   rift

   a gap between cloud masses

   rent, rip, snag, split, tear

   an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

   window

   an opening that resembles a window in appearance or function

   corner pocket

   a pocket at the corner of a billiard table

   side pocket

   a pocket on the side of a billiard table

   Monro's foramen, foramen of Monro, interventricular foramen

   the small opening (on both the right and left sides) that connects the third ventricle in the diencephalon with the lateral ventricle in the cerebral hemisphere

   foramen magnum

   the large opening at the base of the cranium through which the spinal cord passes

   abysm, abyss

   a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)

   aperture

   a natural opening in something

   bolt-hole

   a hole through which an animal may bolt when pursued into its burrow or den

   bullet hole

   a hole made by a bullet passing through it

   chap

   a crack in a lip caused usually by cold

   chink

   a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall

   cranny

   a small opening or crevice (especially in a rock face or wall)

   crevasse

   a deep fissure

   fatigue crack

   a crack in metal resulting from metal fatigue

   break, fault, faulting, fracture, geological fault, shift

   (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other

   gulf

   a deep wide chasm

   leak

   an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape

   ozone hole

   an area of the ozone layer (near the poles) that is seasonally depleted of ozone

   perforation

   a hole made in something

   rathole

   a hole (as in the wall of a building) made by rats

   rift

   a narrow fissure in rock

   slit

   a narrow fissure

   split

   a lengthwise crack in wood

   vent, volcano

   a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt

   knothole

   a hole in a board where a knot came out

   type of:

   space

   an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things)
2. noun

   a narrow opening
   synonyms: crack

   types:

   blank, lacuna

   a blank gap or missing part

   spark gap

   the gap between two high-potential terminals

   type of:

   opening

   a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made
3. noun

   a pass between mountain peaks
   synonyms: col

   types:

   water gap

   a pass in a mountain ridge through which a stream flows

   wind gap

   a pass in a mountain ridge with no stream flowing through it

   type of:

   mountain pass, notch, pass

   the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks
4. noun

   a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures
   “gap between income and outgo”

   synonyms: spread

   type of:

   disparity

   inequality or difference in some respect
5. noun

   a difference (especially an unfortunate difference) between two opinions or two views or two situations
   types:

   generation gap

   a difference between the views of young people and their parents

   type of:

   conflict, difference, difference of opinion, dispute

   a disagreement or argument about something important
6. noun

   an act or event that causes a delay or break in an ongoing process or activity
   “there was a gap in his account”

   synonyms: break, disruption, interruption

   types:

   cut-in, insert

   (film) a still picture that is introduced and that interrupts the action of a film

   cut-in, insert

   (broadcasting) a local announcement inserted into a network program

   interjection, interpellation, interpolation, interposition

   the action of interjecting or interposing an action or remark that interrupts

   abruption, breaking off

   an instance of sudden interruption

   barracking, heckling

   shouting to interrupt a speech with which you disagree

   type of:

   delay, holdup

   the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time
7. verb

   make an opening or gap in
   synonyms: breach

   type of:

   open, open up

   cause to open or to become open