space Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
    infinite.
    • they tested his ability to locate objects in space
    • the boundless regions of the infinite
  2. 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
  3. noun an area reserved for some particular purpose
    • the laboratory's floor space
  4. noun any location outside the Earth's atmosphere
    outer space.
    • the astronauts walked in outer space without a tether
    • the first major milestone in space exploration was in 1957, when the USSR's Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth
  5. noun a blank character used to separate successive words in writing or printing
    blank.
    • he said the space is the most important character in the alphabet
  6. noun the interval between two times
    distance.
    • the distance from birth to death
    • it all happened in the space of 10 minutes
  7. noun a blank area
    place; blank space.
    • write your name in the space provided
  8. 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
  9. noun (printing) a block of type without a raised letter; used for spacing between words or sentences
    quad.
  10. verb place at intervals
    • Space the interviews so that you have some time between the different candidates

WordNet

Space noun
Etymology
OE. space, F. espace, from L. spatium space; cf. Gr. to draw, to tear; perh. akin to E. span. Cf. Expatiate.
Definitions
  1. Extension, considered independently of anything which it may contain; that which makes extended objects conceivable and possible.
    Pure space is capable neither of resistance nor motion. Locke.
  2. Place, having more or ess extension; room.
    They gave him chase, and hunted him as hare; Long had he no space to dwell [in]. R. of Brunne.
    While I have time and space. Chaucer.
  3. A quantity or portion of extension; distance from one thing to another; an interval between any two or more objects; as, the space between two stars or two hills; the sound was heard for the space of a mile.
    Put a space betwixt drove and drove. Gen. xxxii. 16.
  4. Quantity of time; an interval between two points of time; duration; time. "Grace God gave him here, this land to keep long space." R. of brunne.
    Nine times the space that measures day and night. Milton.
    God may defer his judgments for a time, and give a people a longer space of repentance. Tillotson.
  5. A short time; a while. R. "To stay your deadly strife a space." Spenser.
  6. Walk; track; path; course. Obs.
    This ilke [same] monk let old things pace, And held after the new world the space. Chaucer.
  7. (print.) (a) A small piece of metal cast lower than a face type, so as not to receive the ink in printing, -- used to separate words or letters. (b) The distance or interval between words or letters in the lines, or between lines, as in books. ✍ Spaces are of different thicknesses to enable the compositor to arrange the words at equal distances from each other in the same line.
  8. (Mus.) One of the intervals, or open places, between the lines of the staff.
Space intransitive verb
Etymology
Cf. OF. espacier, L. spatiari. See Space, n.
Definitions
  1. To walk; to rove; to roam. Obs.
    And loved in forests wild to space. Spenser.
Space transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. espacer. See Space, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Spaced ; present participle & verbal noun Spacong
Definitions
  1. (Print.) To arrange or adjust the spaces in or between; as, to space words, lines, or letters.

Webster 1913