gap
/ɡæp/noun, verb
gap is spelled G-A-P: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,161st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gap means “An opening in anything, made by breaking or parting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gap is gaps.
How many letters and syllables are in gap?
| Letters | 3: G-A-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 30 times per million words; the 3,161st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gap?
Gap appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,161st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gap?
- US /ɡæp/
- UK /ɡap/
- /ɡɛp/
Gap has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gap.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_gap.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gap?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gap from its last stressed vowel (/æp/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gap
- gaps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- gapping participle, present
- gapped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gap mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An opening in anything, made by breaking or parting.
He made a gap in the fence by kicking at a weak spot.
- 2
An opening allowing passage or entrance.
We can slip through that gap between the buildings.
- 3
An opening that implies a breach or defect.
There is a gap between the roof and the gutter.
- 4
A vacant space or time.
I have a gap in my schedule next Tuesday.
- 5
A hiatus, a pause in something which is otherwise continuous.
I'm taking a gap.
- 6
A vacancy, deficit, absence, or lack.
Their departure has left a gap in the workforce.
- 7
A mountain or hill pass.
The exploring party went through the high gap in the mountains.
- 8
A sheltered area of coast between two cliffs (mostly restricted to place names).
At Birling Gap we can stop and go have a picnic on the beach.
- 9
Alternative form of gup (“elected head of a gewog in Bhutan”).
verb
- 1
To notch, as a sword or knife.
- 2
To make an opening in; to breach.
- 3
To check the size of a gap.
I gapped all the spark plugs in my car, but then realized I had used the wrong manual and had made them too small.
- 4
slangTo surpass (someone or something) by a considerable margin.
- 5
slangTo leave suddenly.
- 6
To fall or spill open so as to leave a gap.
- 7
Of an electric train, to be positioned, or to cause to be positioned, between electrical pickup points, causing loss of power.
The lights flickered as the train momentarily gapped.
- 8
USdatedslangTo stare or gape.
noun
- 1
Acronym of guilty anticipated plea.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brèche, écart , trouée , interruption, solution de continuité , col |
| German | Spalte, Ritz, Ritze , Spalt, Lücke |
| Portuguese | fenda , brecha , vão |
| Spanish | brecha, rehendija, redendija, boquete, mella |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gap come from?
Inherited from Middle English gap /gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”). Doublet of gape.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).