gape

[geyp, gap]

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verb (used without object), gaped, gap·ing.

to stare with open mouth, as in wonder.
to open the mouth wide involuntarily, as the result of hunger, sleepiness, or absorbed attention.
to open as a gap; split or become open wide.

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.

Origin of gape

1175–1225; Middle English < Old Norse gapa to open the mouth wide; compare German gaffen

Related formsgap·ing·ly, adverbsub·gape, verb (used without object), sub·gaped, sub·gap·ing.un·gap·ing, adjective

Synonyms for gape

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1. See gaze. 2, 3. yawn.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gape

stare, glare, gloat, rubberneck, eye, look, goggle, focus, yawp, beam, ogle, peer, bore, wonder, eyeball, cleave, divide, yaw, gap, yawn

Examples from the Web for gape

Contemporary Examples of gape

We want to relate to their humanity rather than gape at their untouchable infallibility.
Britney Spears Is the Last of the Pop Goddesses
Kevin Fallon
December 3, 2013
Gape at the chart that shows the chilling growth in derivatives, just one flavor of “structured product.”
Soothsayers of Silicon Valley
Adam Hanft
October 23, 2008

Historical Examples of gape

But I could not speak; I could only gape, choking and giddy.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
The gape of his enormous jaws was nearly as wide as the gateway of the king's palace.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Duke sank back in his chair to gape at his impetuous cousin.
Love-at-Arms
Raphael Sabatini
At that instant the whole of the heavens seemed to split and gape open.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum
They gape round him while he twangs and screeches, the wind-bag!
Romance
Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

British Dictionary definitions for gape

gape

verb (intr)

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 openthe 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

Word Origin for gape

C13: from Old Norse gapa; related to Middle Dutch gapen, Danish gabe

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

Word Origin and History for gape

early 13c., from an unrecorded Old English word or else from Old Norse gapa "to open the mouth, gape," common West Germanic (cf. Middle Dutch, Dutch gapen, German gaffen "to gape, stare," Swedish gapa, Danish gabe), from PIE *ghai- (see gap). Related: Gaped; gaping. As a noun, from 1530s.