lacuna
Americannoun
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a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.
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Anatomy. one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells.
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Botany. an air space in the cellular tissue of plants.
noun
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a gap or space, esp in a book or manuscript
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biology a cavity or depression, such as any of the spaces in the matrix of bone
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another name for coffer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of lacuna
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin lacūna “ditch, pit, hole, gap, deficiency,” akin to lacus “basin, tub, vat, lake”; see lake 1. Cf. lagoon
Explanation
A lacuna is a gap or missing part. If you complain that there's a major lacuna in the bake sale, the lack of brownies is probably to blame. The noun lacuna means an empty space or a hole where something should be. It's used a lot to talk about missing parts of books or manuscripts, either because lost pages have created a lacuna, or because censors have blacked out or removed parts of them. In the study of anatomy, a lacuna is a hollowed-out place or a cavity within a bone. In Latin, lacuna means "pit or hole," and its plural is lacunae.
Vocabulary lists containing lacuna
Blasted to Smithereens: Synonyms for "Break"
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The Gene
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Sapiens
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After Joel discovers that Clementine has zapped him and their relationship thanks to Lacuna Inc., he decides to do the same.
From New York Times • Mar. 19, 2024
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna lit a “money tree” and led a ceremony to mark what she and other officials said was the 430th founding anniversary of the Binondo district.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2024
Mali's death on Tuesday was announced in a Facebook video by Manila mayor Honey Lacuna, who said visits to the zoo to see Mali were among her happiest childhood memories.
From BBC • Nov. 29, 2023
Be the best aunt you can be and perhaps the fine people at Lacuna, Inc. can help you scrub this memory from your brain.
From Slate • May 18, 2021
Lacuna having surrendered with all his officers and men today, I report that all insurrectionary leaders in this department have been captured or have surrendered.
From The Path of Empire; a chronicle of the United States as a world power by Fish, Carl Russell
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.
