Gap

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Gap, n. [OE. gap; cf. Icel. gap an empty space, Sw. gap mouth, breach, abyss, Dan. gab mouth, opening, AS. geap expanse; as adj., wide, spacious. See Gape.].

•  An opening in anything made by breaking or parting; as, a gap in a fence; an opening for a passage or entrance; an opening which implies a breach or defect; a vacant space or time; a hiatus; a mountain pass.  [1913 Webster]

  "Miseries ensued by the opening of that gap."  [1913 Webster]

  "It would make a great gap in your own honor."  [1913 Webster]
•  The vertical distance between two superposed surfaces, esp. in a biplane.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Gap lathe (Mach.), a turning lathe with a deep notch in the bed to admit of turning a short object of large diameter. -- To stand in the gap, to expose one's self for the protection of something; to make defense against any assailing danger; to take the place of a fallen defender or supporter. -- To stop a gap, to secure a weak point; to repair a defect.

Gap, v. t. 

•  To notch, as a sword or knife.  [1913 Webster]
•  To make an opening in; to breach.  [1913 Webster]

  "Their masses are gapp'd with our grape."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Gap, n.
1 an unfilled space or interval; a blank; a break in continuity.
2 a breach in a hedge, fence, or wall.
3 a wide (usu. undesirable) divergence in views, sympathies, development, etc. (generation gap).
4 a gorge or pass.

Idiom

fill (or close etc.) a gap make up a deficiency. gap-toothed having gaps between the teeth.

Derivative

gapped adj. gappy adj.

Etymology

ME f. ON, = chasm, rel. to GAPE

THESAURUS

Gap

abysm, abyss, aperture, arrearage, arroyo, bottom, bottom glade, bottoms, box canyon, breach, break, breakage, broaching, burst, caesura, canyon, cavity, cessation, chap, chasm, check, chimney, chink, chip, clearing, cleavage, cleave, cleft, cleuch, clough, clove, col, coulee, couloir, crack, cranny, crevasse, crevice, cut, cut apart, cwm, dale, defalcation, defect, deficiency, deficit, defile, dehisce, delay, dell, difference, dike, dingle, disagreement, disclosure, discontinuity, discrepancy, disparity, disruption, distance, distinction, ditch, divergence, division, donga, draw, excavation, fault, fenestra, fissure, fistula, flaw, flume, fontanel, foramen, fracture, furrow, gape, gash, gat, gill, glen, gorge, groove, grove, gulch, gulf, gully, halt, hang open, hiatus, hole, hollow, incise, incision, inconsistency, inlet, interim, intermission, interruption, interspace, interval, intervale, joint, kloof, lack, lacuna, laying open, leak, letup, lull, lunar rill, missing link, moat, need, notch, nullah, omission, open, opening, opening up, orifice, oscitate, outage, outlet, pass, passage, passageway, pause, pore, ravine, recess, rent, respite, rest, rift, rime, rip, rive, rupture, scale, scissure, seam, separation, shortage, slash, slice, slit, slot, space, splinter, split, stoma, stop, strath, suspension, tear, throwing open, trench, trough, ullage, uncorking, unstopping, vale, valley, void, wadi, wait, want, wantage, yawn

ROGET THESAURUS

Gap

Imperfection

N imperfection, imperfectness, deficiency, inadequacy, peccancy, immaturity, fault, defect, weak point, screw loose, flaw, gap, twist, taint, attainder, bar sinister, hole in one's coat, blemish, weakness, half blood, shortcoming, drawback, seamy side, mediocrity, no great shakes, no great catch, not much to boast of, one-horse shay, imperfect, not perfect, deficient, defective, faulty, unsound, tainted, out of order, out of tune, cracked, leaky, sprung, warped, lame, injured, peccant, frail, inadequate, crude, incomplete, found wanting, below par, short-handed, below its full strength, under its full strength, below its full complement, indifferent, middling, ordinary, mediocre, average, so-so, coucicouci, milk and water, tolerable, fair, passable, pretty well, pretty good, rather good, moderately good, good, good enough, well enough, adequate, decent, not bad, not amiss, inobjectionable, unobjectionable, admissible, bearable, only better than nothing, secondary, inferior, second-rate, second-best, one-horse, almost, to a limited extent, rather, pretty, moderately, passing, only, considering, all things considered, enough, surgit amari aliquid.

Incompleteness

N incompleteness, deficiency, short measure, shortcoming, insufficiency, imperfection, immaturity, half measures, defect, deficit, defalcation, omission, caret, shortage, interval, break, noncompletion, missing link, missing piece, missing part, gap, hole, lacuna, incomplete, imperfect, unfinished, uncompleted &c (complete), defective, deficient, wanting, lacking, failing, in default, in arrear, short of, hollow, meager, lame, halfand-half, perfunctory, sketchy, crude, mutilated, garbled, docked, lopped, truncated, in progress, in hand, going on, proceeding, incompletely, by halves, caetera desunt, caret.

Discontinuity

N discontinuity, disjunction, anacoluthon, interruption, break, fracture, flaw, fault, crack, cut, gap, solution of continuity, caesura, broken thread, parenthesis, episode, rhapsody, patchwork, intermission, alternation, dropping fire, discontinuous, unsuccessive, broken, interrupted, dicousu, disconnected, unconnected, discrete, disjunctive, fitful, spasmodic, desultory, intermitting, occasional, intermittent, alternate, recurrent, at intervals, by snatches, by jerks, by skips, by catches, by fits and starts, skippingly, per saltum, longo intervallo, like 'angel visits few and far between'.

Interval

N interval, interspace, separation, break, gap, opening, hole, chasm, hiatus, caesura, interruption, interregnum, interstice, lacuna, cleft, mesh, crevice, chink, rime, creek, cranny, crack, chap, slit, fissure, scissure, rift, flaw, breach, rent, gash, cut, leak, dike, ha-ha, gorge, defile, ravine, canon, crevasse, abyss, abysm, gulf, inlet, frith, strait, gully, pass, furrow, abra, barranca, barranco, clove, gulch, notch, yawning gulf, hiatus maxime, hiatus valde deflendus, parenthesis, void, incompleteness, period, interim (time), with an interval, far between, breachy, rimose, rimulose, at intervals, longo intervallo.