gape
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
a wide opening; gap; breach.
-
an act or instance of gaping.
-
a stare, as in astonishment or with the mouth wide open.
-
a yawn.
-
Zoology. the width of the open mouth.
verb
-
to stare in wonder or amazement, esp with the mouth open
-
to open the mouth wide, esp involuntarily, as in yawning or hunger
-
to be or become wide open
the crater gaped under his feet
noun
-
the act of gaping
-
a wide opening; breach
-
the width of the widely opened mouth of a vertebrate
-
a stare or expression of astonishment
Related Words
See gaze.
Other Word Forms
- gapingly adverb
- subgape verb (used without object)
- ungaping adjective
Etymology
Origin of gape
1175–1225; Middle English, from Old Norse gapa “to open the mouth wide”; compare German gaffen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He hands me a check and I gape at him.
From Literature
But soon after, he’d seen his reflection in a glassy pond, his left eye socket gaping grotesquely above his snarled whiskers.
From Literature
The gaping holes torn in a road to Mandalay by last year's devastating earthquake have been filled in, and the route in northern Myanmar partly resurfaced.
From Barron's
In front of us a gaping black interior appeared.
From Literature
Beneath the shadowing shawl her head was tied up with a rag – to keep her dead jaw from dropping in one final gape.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.