I. ˈgap noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English gap, gappe, from Old Norse gap chasm, hole; akin to Old Norse gapa to gape — more at gape
1.
a. : a break in a barrier (as a wall or hedge) ; specifically : a breach in a line of military defense
a gap appeared in the front ranks of the Macedonian army — Tom Wintringham
b. : an assailable position : vulnerability
a fatal gap in our security structure — H.S.Truman
2. : a small cleft or notch
a pipe wedged between a gap in his teeth — Judson Philips
3.
a. : a notch in the crest of a ridge : mountain pass : col
US 64 enters a gap in Crowley's Ridge and passes between the rolling slopes — American Guide Series: Arkansas
b. : a gorge cutting through a ridge : ravine — compare water gap , wind gap
c. archaic : a hole in the ground : chasm
great holes and gaps had worn into the soil — Charles Dickens
d. : a break in a levee through which a distributary stream may flow : tidal inlet
the tide … flows in and out through gaps — V.C.Finch & G.T.Trewartha
e. : a steep-sided furrow that cuts transversely across a ridge in the ocean bottom
4.
a. : a separation in space : an intervening distance: as
(1) : the shortest distance between the planes of the chords of the upper and lower wings of a biplane
(2) : spark gap
b. : a place from which something is missing
into the gap left by mobilized men have come women — A.R.Williams
5. : a break in continuity : interval , hiatus
intervening gap of over thirty years — Osbert Sitwell
6. : a break in the vascular cylinder of a plant where a vascular trace departs from the central cylinder — see branch gap , leaf gap
7.
a. : a wide difference in character or attitude
gap between generations
b. : a wide difference in condition or quality
gap between rich and poor
8. : a lack of balance between exports and imports : dollar gap
half the gap in the trade balance represented machinery — Harry Gilroy
Synonyms: see break
II. verb
( gapped ; gapped ; gapping ; gaps )
transitive verb
1. : to make jagged : notch
2. : to make an opening in : breach — usually used in past tense
the magnificent row of houses was gapped in two places where bombs had fallen — C.D.Lewis
3. : to adjust the space between the electrodes of (a spark plug)
intransitive verb
1. : to become notched or jagged
steel gapped and lost its edge — Reader
2. : to become separated
do not let the collar … gap away from the neck — New York Herald Tribune
causing his … shirt to gap open — Calvin Kentfield
III.
dialect
variant of gape