space

/speɪs/

/speɪs/

Other forms: spaces; spaced; spacing

Before hiring a moving company to bring a grand piano into your studio apartment, you should measure how much space you actually have available.

Space, along with time, is one of the basic concepts of reality, but there are plenty of non-philosophical ways to use it. Don't let your dog sleep in the bed — she'll take up too much space. There's a space between each of these words. If you're into rockets, you probably want to travel in space, beyond the earth's atmosphere. A space in your day is free time. (Weird, right?) The root word spatium means "area covered" in Latin.

Definitions of space

1. noun

   the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
   “they tested his ability to locate objects in space”

   synonyms: infinite

   types:

   absolute space

   physical space independent of what occupies it

   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

   any location outside the Earth's atmosphere

   dynamical system

   (physics) a phase space together with a transformation of that space

   subspace

   a space that is contained within another space

   null space

   a space that contains no points; and empty space

   manifold

   a set of points such as those of a closed surface or an analogue in three or more dimensions

   metric space

   a set of points such that for every pair of points there is a nonnegative real number called their distance that is symmetric and satisfies the triangle inequality

   type of:

   attribute

   an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
2. noun

   any location outside the Earth's atmosphere
   “the first major milestone in space exploration was in 1957, when the USSR's Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth”

   synonyms: outer space

   type of:

   location

   a point or extent in space

   infinite

   the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
3. noun

   a blank area
   “write your name in the space provided”

   synonyms: blank space, place

   types:

   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

   type of:

   area, expanse, surface area

   the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary
4. noun

   an empty area (usually bounded in some way between things)
   “the architect left space in front of the building”

   “they stopped at an open space in the jungle”

   “the space between his teeth”

   types:

   compartment

   a space into which an area is subdivided

   crenel, crenelle

   a notch or open space between two merlons in a crenelated battlement

   pleural space

   the small potential space between the parietal and visceral layers of the pleura

   subarachnoid space

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

   enclosure, natural enclosure

   a naturally enclosed space

   expanse

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

   gap, opening

   an open or empty space in or between things

   swath

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

   angle

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

   emptiness, vacancy, vacuum, void

   an empty area or space

   hole

   an unoccupied space

   cavity, enclosed space

   space that is surrounded by something

   pocket

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

   cell

   any small compartment

   cubbyhole, pigeonhole

   a small compartment

   pocket

   an opening at the corner or on the side of a billiard table into which billiard balls are struck

   PO Box, POB, Post-Office box, call box, letter box

   a numbered compartment in a post office where mail is put to be called for

   diastema

   a gap or vacant space between two teeth

   Ranvier's nodes, nodes of Ranvier

   small gaps in the myelin sheath of medullated axons

   foramen, hiatus

   a natural opening or perforation through a bone or a membranous structure

   crotch, fork

   the angle formed by the inner sides of the legs where they join the human trunk

   breach

   an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification)

   cavern

   any large dark enclosed space

   chasm

   a deep opening in the earth's surface

   cleft, crack, crevice, fissure, scissure

   a long narrow opening

   hole

   an opening into or through something

   matrix

   an enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb)

   mouth

   an opening that resembles a mouth (as of a cave or a gorge)

   rift

   a gap between cloud masses

   rent, rip, snag, split, tear

   an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

   sheet

   any broad thin expanse or surface

   stretch

   a large and unbroken expanse or distance

   window

   an opening that resembles a window in appearance or function

   axil

   the upper angle between an axis and an offshoot such as a branch or leafstalk

   helix angle

   the constant angle at which a helix cuts the elements of a cylinder or cone

   complementary angles

   two angles whose sum is a right angle

   angular distance

   the angular separation between two objects as perceived by an observer

   plane angle

   an angle formed by two straight lines (in the same plane)

   spherical angle

   an angle formed at the intersection of the arcs of two great circles

   solid angle

   an angle formed by three or more planes intersecting at a common point (the vertex)

   angle of inclination, inclination

   (geometry) the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line (measured counterclockwise from the positive half of the x-axis)

   inclination, inclination of an orbit

   (astronomy) the angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees

   salient angle

   an angle pointing outward; an interior angle of a polygon that is less than 180 degrees

   interior angle, internal angle

   the angle inside two adjacent sides of a polygon

   exterior angle, external angle

   the supplement of an interior angle of a polygon

   angle of incidence, incidence angle

   the angle that a line makes with a line perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence

   angle of reflection

   the angle between a reflected ray and a line perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence

   angle of refraction

   the angle between a refracted ray and a line perpendicular to the surface between the two media at the point of refraction

   angle of extinction, extinction angle

   the angle from its axis that a crystal must be rotated before appearing maximally dark when viewed in polarized light

   dogleg

   angle that resembles the hind leg of a dog

   right angle

   the 90 degree angle between two perpendicular lines

   oblique angle

   an angle that is not a right angle or a multiple of a right angle

   reflex angle

   an angle greater than 180 degrees (but less than 360)

   perigon, round angle

   an angle of 360 degrees

   cutting angle

   the angle between the face of a cutting tool and the surface of the work

   angle of dip, dip, inclination, magnetic dip, magnetic inclination

   (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon

   lead

   the angle between the direction a gun is aimed and the position of a moving target (correcting for the flight time of the missile)

   magnetic declination, magnetic variation, variation

   the angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north

   AZ, azimuth

   the azimuth of a celestial body is the angle between the vertical plane containing it and the plane of the meridian

   hollow

   a cavity or space in something

   pore

   any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)

   pocket, pouch, sac, sack

   an enclosed space

   polyhedral angle

   the space enclosed by three or more planes that intersect in a vertex

   face angle

   the angle formed by two edges of a polyhedral angle

   tilt angle

   the angle a rocket makes with the vertical as it curves along its trajectory

   vertical angle

   either of two equal and opposite angles formed by the intersection of two straight lines

   angle of view, view angle

   the angle included by a photographic lens

   wave angle

   the angle of arrival (or departure) of a radio wave with respect to the axis of an antenna array

   supplementary angles

   two angles whose sum is 180 degrees

   type of:

   location

   a point or extent in space

   amorphous shape

   an ill-defined or arbitrary shape
5. noun

   an area reserved for some particular purpose
   “the laboratory's floor space”

   types:

   air space, airspace

   the space in the atmosphere immediately above the earth

   crawl space, crawlspace

   low space beneath a floor of a building; gives workers access to wiring or plumbing

   disc space, disk space

   (computer science) the space available on a magnetic disk

   flies

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

   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

   no-parking zone

   a space where automobiles are not allowed to park

   parking space, parking zone

   a space where an automobile can be parked

   separation

   the space where a division or parting occurs

   place, seat

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

   terreplein

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

   workspace

   space allocated for your work (as in an office)

   disk overhead, overhead

   (computer science) the disk space required for information that is not data but is used for location and timing

   swap file, swap space

   the disk space that is set aside for virtual memory

   perch

   an elevated place serving as a seat

   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
6. noun

   the interval between two times
   “it all happened in the space of 10 minutes”

   synonyms: distance

   type of:

   interval, time interval

   a definite length of time marked off by two instants
7. verb

   place at intervals
   “Space the interviews so that you have some time between the different candidates”

   type of:

   lay, place, pose, position, put, set

   put into a certain place or abstract location
8. noun

   a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing
   “he said the space is the most important character in the alphabet”

   synonyms: blank

   type of:

   character, grapheme, graphic symbol

   a written symbol that is used to represent speech
9. noun

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

   types:

   hair space

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

   type of:

   type

   a small metal block bearing a raised character on one end; produces a printed character when inked and pressed on paper
10. noun

    one of the areas between or below or above the lines of a musical staff
    “the spaces are the notes F-A-C-E”

    type of:

    area, expanse, surface area

    the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary