- gap
- noun1 space between thingsADJECTIVE▪ big, huge, large, wide▪ narrow, small, tinyVERB + GAP▪ leave▪ fill, seal, span▪
Seal the gaps around the windows with a sealant.
GAP + VERB▪ appear, open up▪He flashed his headlights and changed lanes whenever a gap opened up.
PREPOSITION▪ through a/the gap▪A rabbit darted through a gap in the fence.
▪ gap between▪Position the tiles, leaving a narrow gap between the edges.
▪ gap in▪A huge gap had appeared in the hedge.
2 period of timeADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪ two-year, etc.▪ awkward (esp. BrE)VERB + GAP▪ fill▪Ads are just there to fill the gaps between quiz shows.
▪I was wondering how to fill those awkward gaps in the conversation.
GAP + NOUN▪ year (BrE)▪I'm planning to travel in my gap year (= the year between school and university).
PREPOSITION▪ after a/the gap▪She returned to teaching after a twelve-year gap.
▪ gap between▪a job to fill the gap between high school and college
▪ gap in▪a gap in his career
3 differenceADJECTIVE▪ big, enormous, huge, large, significant, substantial, vast, wide, yawning▪ unbridgeable▪the unbridgeable gap between the two cultures
▪ ever-widening, growing, widening▪ narrow▪ age, generation▪Despite the age gap, romance blossomed.
▪ cultural, culture▪ gender▪the gender gap in earnings
▪ black-white, racial▪ wealth▪ credibility▪Newspapers were talking of a credibility gap between what he said and what he did.
▪ achievement, information, knowledge, skills▪the knowledge gap between doctor and patient
▪ trade▪ income, pay, wage (esp. AmE)VERB + GAP▪ address, bridge, close, eliminate, narrow, reduce, span▪an attempt to bridge the gap between the academic world and industry
▪ widen▪ highlightGAP + VERB▪ open up▪A huge gap has opened up between expectations and what is deliverable.
▪ grow, widen▪ close, narrow▪ separate sb/sth▪He realized how narrow the gap was that separated him from his pagan ancestors.
PREPOSITION▪ gap between▪The gap between rich and poor widened.
4 where sth is missingADJECTIVE▪ big, enormous, great, huge, important, large, serious, significant, yawning▪serious gaps in their knowledge
▪ glaring, obviousVERB + GAP▪ create, leave▪His death left a huge gap in my life.
▪ identify, see, spot (esp. BrE)▪ close, fill, fill in, plug▪Her appointment will fill the gap created when the marketing manager left.
▪ exploit▪The company has exploited a lucrative gap in the market.
PREPOSITION▪ gap in▪legislation to close a gap in the law
PHRASES▪ a gap in the market▪We think we've identified a gap in the market (= a business opportunity).
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
