gaping
/ˈɡeɪpɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
gaping is spelled G-A-P-I-N-G: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gaping means “Wide open” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gaping?
| Letters | 6: G-A-P-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 gaping?
Gaping appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st 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 gaping?
- /ˈɡeɪpɪŋ/
Gaping has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AnotherFriendlyHuman-gaping.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gaping?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as gaping.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: paging.
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 gaping
- more gaping comparative
- most gaping superlative
- gapings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gaping mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Wide open.
There’s a gaping hole in the fence.
- 2
Having the jaw wide open, as in astonishment or stupefaction.
noun
- 1
The act of one who gapes.
- 2
Something gaping; something agape.
- 3
A threat or courtship behavior in animals involving holding the mouth open and displaying the teeth or other interior features.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of gape
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gaping in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wide open:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | béant |
| German | klaffend |
| Portuguese | escancarado, aberto |
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 gaping come from?
From Middle English gaping, gapynge, variants of Middle English gapand, gapande, equivalent to gape + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).