gap
(găp)
[Middle English, from Old Norse, chasm.]
noun
- 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.
verb: gapped, gap·ping, gaps.
transitive verb
- To make an opening in.
intransitive verb
- To be or become open.
