with the mouth wide open, as in wonder, surprise, or eagerness.
We stood there agape at the splendor.
wide open.
his mouth agape.
the love of God or Christ for humankind.
the love of Christians for other persons, corresponding to the love of God for humankind.
unselfish love of one person for another without sexual implications; brotherly love.
Christian love, esp as contrasted with erotic love; charity
a communal meal in the early Church taken in commemoration of the Last Supper; love feast
(esp of the mouth) wide open
very surprised, expectant, or eager, esp as indicated by a wide open mouth
First recorded in 1660–70; a- 1 + gape
First recorded in 1600–10, agape is from the Greek word agápē “love”
If you’re watching a powerful display of nature such as an avalanche, you might stare at it with your mouth agape, which means your mouth would be wide open in awe. You should close it, before it is full of snow. Agape, you may have already figured out, comes from the verb gape, meaning "to open wide or split." This is what happens to your mouth when you are looking agape at something in amazement. Don’t confuse mouth-wide-open agape with the other agape, which is spelled the same but pronounced differently and refers to Christian love.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The mouths of journalists were agape, but time dulls horrific reality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Davies tells Newsbeat he shared his plan with BBC bosses, leaving them "with jaws agape, loving it".
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
Nghia spends the film with his mouth agape and his eyes wet and bleary behind thick prescription glasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
There I was, learning about the end of this particular chapter of democracy while trying on jorts 50 percent off at a Gap Outlet, my mouth agape at the not-surprising but still-shocking news.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2024
The same report that sparked conversation among Katherine Goble and her colleagues left Christine and her classmates agape.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01NS094564, R21NS106307, and RF1AG077451, as well as grants from the Hartwell Foundation, Cure SMA, and the Agape Foundation.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023
“This is the precise time to preach the word of God,” said pastor Albert Rivera, an evangelical who currently provides a roof and spiritual guidance for nearly 400 migrants in Agape, a nearby shelter.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
One of them is Ken Alexandrow, a former police officer in Tennessee who runs Agape Tactical, a company that has taught nurses, teachers and church staff techniques for defending against a shooter.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
Schmitt last year asked a Cedar County judge to close Agape, but the judge had not yet issued a decision.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
Agape, we’d stood on the sidewalk with our sodas while he waved and dashed into the store.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
