🧩 A gap filler 🌍 Gap year student 😁 Gap-toothed person 📈 Jumping stock

gapper

6.0

A person who spends a year travelling or volunteering before university

noun
/ˈɡæpər/

: persona que toma un año sabático

Many gappers volunteer abroad to gain new experiences before starting university.

Examples

After high school, he became a gapper and traveled through South America for twelve months.
Being a gapper helped her decide what career path she wanted to follow.
She is a gapper who traveled to Thailand.
Many gappers volunteer abroad during their break.
After high school, he became a gapper and traveled through South America for twelve months.
Many gappers volunteer abroad to gain new experiences before starting university.
Being a gapper helped her decide what career path she wanted to follow.

How Educated

postgraduate

3 4.0

graduate

551 3.4

undergraduate

93 3.2

nongraduate

4.4

gapper

6.0

Surface Forms

gapper singular

gappers plural

Morphology

gapper = gap (semi-transparent) = gap + er

The form is regular, but the specific sense 'person who takes a gap year' is a specialized modern usage rather than the most obvious reading.

Etymology

Gapper comes from gap meaning 'a break' (as in a 'gap year') and the ending -er meaning 'one who', so a gapper is someone who takes a break between school and work. This explains why a gapper often travels or tries new things before starting study or a job.