gape

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɡeɪp/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like gap /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #47917

Meanings

1

verb
To stare with your mouth open in surprise or wonder.

The children stood and gaped at the huge dinosaur skeleton.
2

verb
To be or become wide open.

The wound was gaping open and losing too much blood.
3

noun
A look of open-mouthed amazement.

She looked at the prize with a gape of disbelief.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to stare with your mouth... gawkgawpgoggle

2 verb · to be or become wide open. yawn

Word family

Forms gapedgapesgapinggapingly

Derived forms agapegape-mouthedgapelinegapy

Etymology

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 *ǵʰеh₂b-. Cognates include Russian зяпа (zjapa). Doublet of gap.

gapen Middle English gapa Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

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# gape

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡeɪp/
**Frequency rank:** 47917

## Meanings
1. To stare with your mouth open in surprise or wonder.
2. To be or become wide open.
3. A look of open-mouthed amazement.

## Examples
- The children stood and gaped at the huge dinosaur skeleton.
- The wound was gaping open and losing too much blood.
- She looked at the prize with a gape of disbelief.

## Derived Forms
- agape
- gape-mouthed
- gapeline
- gapy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gapen
- Root: gapa

## Etymology
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 *ǵʰеh₂b-. Cognates include Russian зяпа (zjapa). Doublet of gap.

## AI Etymology
Gape is 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 *ǵʰеh₂b-. Cognates include Russian зяпа (zjapa). Doublet of gap. In present-day use, it can mean to stare with your mouth open in surprise or wonder, or to be or become wide open. Derived formations include agape, gape-mouthed, gapeline, gapy.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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gape

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