interstice

/ɪnˈtʌrstəs/

Other forms: interstices

Use the noun interstice to mean a tiny gap, like the interstice between your curtains which lets in a thin slice of morning sunlight.

An interstice in the clouds might reveal blue sky, and an interstice in your kitchen wall could account for the mouse problem you've had lately. Though interstice is useful for talking about these narrow spaces or openings between things, it's much more commonly used in its plural form. For example, you might complain that in the interstices of your busy day you have to catch up on returning phone calls. The Latin root is interstitium, which literally means "space between."

Definitions of interstice

1. noun

   small opening between things
   type of:

   opening

   a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made
2. noun

   a small structural space between tissues or parts of an organ
   “the interstices of a network”

   types:

   areola

   small space in a tissue or body part such as the area between veins on a leaf or an insect's wing

   type of:

   anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure

   a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing