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
4
a
: a separation in space
b
: an incomplete or deficient area
a gap in her knowledge
5
: a break in continuity : hiatus
6
: a break in the vascular cylinder of a plant where a vascular trace departs from the central cylinder
7
: lack of balance : disparity
the gap between imports and exports
8
: a wide difference in character or attitude
the generation gap
9
: a problem caused by some disparity
a communication gap
credibility gap
gapped; gapping
1
: to make an opening in
2
: to adjust the space between the electrodes of (a spark plug)
: to fall or stand open
Synonyms
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
Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2024
Through gaps in the wood, a person waved a large Palestinian flag.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Recruiting new talent is a matter of survival for Otter Tail and other rural counties across America that face population decline, labor shortages, and widening skill gaps.
—Nick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Because millions of workers are woefully lacking in retirement savings, working longer is seen as a way to solve their funding gap.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The lack of diversity in finance has long been recognized as a problem but change is slow even as authorities around the world seek to close the gender pay gap.
—Nicholas Comfort, Fortune Europe, 26 Apr. 2024
The report shows how racial and gender gaps in earnings, retirement savings and emergency savings can contribute to a lifetime lag for individuals and families.
—Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
More recent converts, eager to fill in the gaps of their knowledge.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Ohtani hit the ball on the nose, sending a 98-mph line drive to center field but well within the reach of Jacob Young, who ran toward the gap in left-center for the inning-ending catch.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If the stock gaps up that will be bullish and can easily trigger another leg higher.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
These lend themselves to gap financing or seed financing situations.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023
But the panel gaps aside, production-ready versions of the Cybertruck aren’t without their defenders.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 29 Nov. 2023
To gap or not to gap After the final Apollo crewed flight in 1975, the US space agency had no capability to fly astronauts into space until the advent of the Space Shuttle in 1981.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023
Some customers did report having to exchange the bra for a better size in order to prevent any compression or gapping that lead to the flanges falling out.
—Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 18 Aug. 2023
In that, gap analysis – linking routes to destinations – will be a major focus, but the ultimate goal will be bringing all the areas together to benefit the region.
—Bran Strickland | , al, 10 July 2023
Noun
It’s judged by a now 28-year gap since their last Super Bowl title in 1996.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Apr. 2024
Through gaps in the wood, a person waved a large Palestinian flag.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Recruiting new talent is a matter of survival for Otter Tail and other rural counties across America that face population decline, labor shortages, and widening skill gaps.
—Nick Fouriezos, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
Because millions of workers are woefully lacking in retirement savings, working longer is seen as a way to solve their funding gap.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2024
The lack of diversity in finance has long been recognized as a problem but change is slow even as authorities around the world seek to close the gender pay gap.
—Nicholas Comfort, Fortune Europe, 26 Apr. 2024
The report shows how racial and gender gaps in earnings, retirement savings and emergency savings can contribute to a lifetime lag for individuals and families.
—Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
More recent converts, eager to fill in the gaps of their knowledge.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024
Ohtani hit the ball on the nose, sending a 98-mph line drive to center field but well within the reach of Jacob Young, who ran toward the gap in left-center for the inning-ending catch.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
Conversely, if the numbers disappoint, the stock can easily gap down.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If the stock gaps up that will be bullish and can easily trigger another leg higher.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
These lend themselves to gap financing or seed financing situations.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023
But the panel gaps aside, production-ready versions of the Cybertruck aren’t without their defenders.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 29 Nov. 2023
To gap or not to gap After the final Apollo crewed flight in 1975, the US space agency had no capability to fly astronauts into space until the advent of the Space Shuttle in 1981.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023
Some customers did report having to exchange the bra for a better size in order to prevent any compression or gapping that lead to the flanges falling out.
—Jasmine Gomez, Women's Health, 18 Aug. 2023
In that, gap analysis – linking routes to destinations – will be a major focus, but the ultimate goal will be bringing all the areas together to benefit the region.
—Bran Strickland | , al, 10 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near gap
Cite this Entry
“Gap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gap. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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