SPACE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does space mean? 

• SPACE (noun)
  The noun SPACE has 9 senses:

1. the unlimited expanse in which everything is located

2. an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things)

3. an area reserved for some particular purpose

4. any location outside the Earth's atmosphere

5. a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing

6. the interval between two times

7. a blank area

8. one of the areas between or below or above the lines of a musical staff

9. (printing) a block of type without a raised letter; used for spacing between words or sentences

  Familiarity information: SPACE used as a noun is familiar.

• SPACE (verb)
  The verb SPACE has 1 sense:

1. place at intervals

  Familiarity information: SPACE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPACE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The unlimited expanse in which everything is located

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

infinite; space

Context example:

the boundless regions of the infinite

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

attribute (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity)

Meronyms (parts of "space"):

location (a point or extent in space)

aerospace (the atmosphere and outer space considered as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "space"):

phase space ((physics) an ideal space in which the coordinate dimensions represent the variables that are required to describe a system or substance)

mathematical space; topological space ((mathematics) any set of points that satisfy a set of postulates of some kind)

outer space; space (any location outside the Earth's atmosphere)

absolute space (physical space independent of what occupies it)

Derivation:

spacial; spatial (pertaining to or involving or having the nature of space)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An empty area (usually bounded in some way between things)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Context example:

the space between his teeth

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

location (a point or extent in space)

amorphous shape (an ill-defined or arbitrary shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "space"):

pocket ((bowling) the space between the headpin and the pins behind it on the right or left)

cavity; enclosed space (space that is surrounded by something)

hole (an unoccupied space)

emptiness; vacancy; vacuum; void (an empty area or space)

angle (the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians)

swath (the space created by the swing of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine)

gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)

expanse (a wide and open space or area as of surface or land or sky)

enclosure; natural enclosure (a naturally enclosed space)

subarachnoid space (a space in the meninges beneath the arachnoid membrane and above the pia mater that contains the cerebrospinal fluid)

pleural space (the small potential space between the parietal and visceral layers of the pleura)

crenel; crenelle (a notch or open space between two merlons in a crenelated battlement)

compartment (a space into which an area is subdivided)

Derivation:

space (place at intervals)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An area reserved for some particular purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

the laboratory's floor space

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

area; country (a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "space"):

parking space; parking zone (a space where an automobile can be parked)

workspace (space allocated for your work (as in an office))

terreplein (level space where heavy guns can be mounted behind the parapet at the top of a rampart)

place; seat (a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane))

separation (the space where a division or parting occurs)

key; paint ((basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually painted a different color from the rest of the court)

flies ((theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains))

disc space; disk space ((computer science) the space available on a magnetic disk)

crawl space; crawlspace (low space beneath a floor of a building; gives workers access to wiring or plumbing)

air space; airspace (the space in the atmosphere immediately above the earth)

no-parking zone (a space where automobiles are not allowed to park)

Derivation:

spacious ((of buildings and rooms) having ample space)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any location outside the Earth's atmosphere

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

outer space; space

Context example:

the first major milestone in space exploration was in 1957, when the USSR's Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

location (a point or extent in space)

infinite; space (the unlimited expanse in which everything is located)

Meronyms (parts of "space"):

interplanetary space (the part of outer space within the solar system)

interstellar space (the space between stars)

intergalactic space (the space between galaxies)

deep space (any region in space outside the solar system)

Holonyms ("space" is a part of...):

aerospace (the atmosphere and outer space considered as a whole)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

blank; space

Context example:

he said the space is the most important character in the alphabet

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

character; graph; grapheme; graphic symbol (a written symbol that is used to represent speech)

Derivation:

space (place at intervals)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The interval between two times

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

distance; space

Context example:

it all happened in the space of 10 minutes

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

interval; time interval (a definite length of time marked off by two instants)

Derivation:

space (place at intervals)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A blank area

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

blank space; place; space

Context example:

write your name in the space provided

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

area; expanse; surface area (the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "space"):

margin (the blank space that surrounds the text on a page)

indent; indentation; indention; indenture (the space left between the margin and the start of an indented line)

Holonyms ("space" is a part of...):

form (a printed document with spaces in which to write)

Sense 8

Meaning:

One of the areas between or below or above the lines of a musical staff

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the spaces are the notes F-A-C-E

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

area; expanse; surface area (the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary)

Holonyms ("space" is a part of...):

musical notation ((music) notation used by musicians)

staff; stave ((music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written)

Sense 9

Meaning:

(printing) a block of type without a raised letter; used for spacing between words or sentences

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

quad; space

Hypernyms ("space" is a kind of...):

type (a small metal block bearing a raised character on one end; produces a printed character when inked and pressed on paper)

Domain category:

printing; printing process (reproduction by applying ink to paper as for publication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "space"):

hair space ((printing) the narrowest of the spaces used to separate words or letters)

• SPACE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they space    ... he / she / it spaces   
Past simple: spaced   
Past participle: spaced   
-ing form: spacing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place at intervals

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

Space the interviews so that you have some time between the different candidates

Hypernyms (to "space" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

space (a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing)

space (an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things))

space (the interval between two times)

spacing (the property possessed by an array of things that have space between them)

 Context examples 

Edith was silent for a space.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

But the space on deck where I had left him lying was vacant.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Holmes held out a small chip with the letters NN and a space of clear wood after them.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He shook his fist at himself in the glass, and sat down on the edge of the bed to dream for a space with wide eyes.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

This means you should not close on a house during that period (and I would leave a space of days before and after the start and end dates of Mercury retrograde).

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He walked to the centre of the open space and listened.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Give me the great waste lands and the wide spaces, with a gun in my fist and somethin' to look for that's worth findin'.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then he applied his teeth to the thong, and in the space of ten seconds was free.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He pointed to a space over which “Naval Signals” was printed.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He cannot have been disposed of in so short a space; he must be still alive, he must have fled!

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)