(~s, gaping, ~d)
1.
If you ~, you look at someone or something in surprise, usually with an open mouth.
His secretary stopped taking notes to ~ at me...
...a grotesque face with its gaping mouth.
VERB: V at n, V-ing, also V
2.
If you say that something such as a hole or a wound ~s, you are emphasizing that it is big or wide.
The front door was missing. A hole ~d in the roof.
VERB: V emphasis
gaping
The aircraft took off with a gaping hole in its fuselage.
...a gaping wound in her back.
ADJ: usu ADJ n