n.
- An opening in a solid structure or surface; a cleft or breach: wriggled through a gap in the fence; a large gap in the wall where the artillery shell had exploded.
- A break in a line of defense.
- An opening through mountains; a pass.
- A space between objects or points; an aperture: a gap between his front teeth.
- An interruption of continuity: a nine-minute gap in the recorded conversation; needed to fill in the gaps in her knowledge.
- A conspicuous difference or imbalance; a disparity: a gap between revenue and spending; the widening gap between rich and poor.
- A problematic situation resulting from such a disparity: the budget gap; the technology gap.
- A spark gap.
- Computer Science. An absence of information on a recording medium, often used to signal the end of a segment of information.
- Electronics. The distance between the head of a recording device and the surface of the recording medium.
v., gapped, gap·ping, gaps. v.tr.
To make an opening in.
v.intr.
To be or become open.
[Middle English, from Old Norse, chasm.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
