gapes
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
gape
(gāp, găp)intr.v. gaped, gap·ing, gapes
1. To open the mouth wide.
2. To stare wonderingly or stupidly, often with the mouth open. See Synonyms at gaze.
3. To be or become open or wide: Holes gaped in the ceiling.
n.
1. The act or an instance of gaping: a scoring move that elicited gapes from her teammates.
2. A large opening: a gape in the sail.
3.
a. The mouth, especially when open.
b. Zoology The width of the space between the open jaws or mandibles of a vertebrate.
4. gapes(used with a sing. verb) A disease of birds, especially young domesticated chickens and turkeys, caused by gapeworms and resulting in obstructed breathing.
5. gapes A fit of yawning.
[Middle English gapen, from Old Norse gapa.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
gapes
(ɡeɪps)n (functioning as singular)
1. (Veterinary Science) a disease of young domestic fowl, characterized by gaping or gasping for breath and caused by gapeworms
2. informal a fit of yawning
ˈgapy adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
gapes
(geɪps, gæps)n. (used with a sing. v.)
1. a parasitic disease of poultry and other birds, characterized by frequent gaping due to infestation of the trachea and bronchi with gapeworms.
2. a fit of yawning.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.