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gap year

[gap yeer]

noun

a period of time, usually an academic or calendar year, in which a student takes a break from school to travel, work, or volunteer, typically after ending high school and before starting college.

Origin of gap year

First recorded in 1975–80; gap + year
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for gap year

gap year

noun

British a year's break taken by a student between leaving school and starting further education
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012