Gape Definition

gāp, găp
gaped, gapes, gaping
verb
gaped, gapes, gaping
To open the mouth wide, as in yawning or from hunger.
Webster's New World
To stare with the mouth open, as in wonder or surprise.
Webster's New World
To open or be opened wide, as a chasm.
Webster's New World

(intransitive) To open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily, as in a yawn, anger, or surprise.

Wiktionary
Antonyms:
noun
gapes
The act of gaping.
Webster's New World
A wide gap or opening.
Webster's New World
The measure of the widest possible opening of a mouth or beak.
Webster's New World
The width of the space between the open jaws or mandibles of a vertebrate.
American Heritage
A disease of birds, especially young domesticated chickens and turkeys, caused by gapeworms and resulting in obstructed breathing.
American Heritage
idiom
the gapes
  • a disease of young poultry and birds, characterized by gasping and choking and caused by gapeworms
  • a fit of yawning
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Gape

Noun

Singular:
gape
Plural:
gapes

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Gape

  • the gapes

Origin of Gape

  • From Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa (“to gape”) (compare Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną (descendants Middle English geapen, Dutch gapen, German gaffen), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ghēp-.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English gapen from Old Norse gapa

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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