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
Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024
About lives of three women in Mumbai dealing with work and love and encroaching gentrification, the film, perhaps because of its portrayal of a growing wealth gap in India, was snubbed by India as its Oscar submission.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
The stock gapped higher (at $736) and continued to advance before closing all the way up at $764.
—Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gap 
Noun
Yes, but: That's still disproportionate to the city's population, which is about 53% women, the report says, and so far has not been enough to help New Orleans bridge other gender gaps in health care, wages and other disparities.
—Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024
About lives of three women in Mumbai dealing with work and love and encroaching gentrification, the film, perhaps because of its portrayal of a growing wealth gap in India, was snubbed by India as its Oscar submission.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
The stock is prone to big moves after reporting earnings and can easily gap up if the numbers are strong.
—Adam Sarhan, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
The stock gapped higher (at $736) and continued to advance before closing all the way up at $764.
—Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gap
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 5 Nov. 2024.
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