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Glite Dictionary
to bridge the gap

to bridge the gap

17 4.0
To make it easier for two groups or ideas to understand each other
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : cerrar la brecha
  • The workshop aims to bridge the gap between the different departments in the company.
  • help bridge the gap
  • attempt to bridge the gap
  • designed to bridge the gap

And we, we bridged the gap and we became friends again.

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Examples

  • Therefore, this study attempted to bridge the gap between practice and theory.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Demonstration teaching is especially powerful in bridging the gap between theory and practice.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Perhaps these may help bridge the gap?

    The Last Supper (2025)

  • The game before you is designed to bridge the gap between you all.

    Saw V (2008)

  • I mean, for me, it's actually, I really hope this conversation starts to bridge the gap between generations.

    10 Downing Street

  • How do decision makers bridge the gap from the present to the future?

    Academic text (1996)

  • Human language evolved to enable diverse individuals to bridge the gaps that separate them.

    Academic text (2008)

  • How effective are programs that are designed to bridge the gap for underprepared students?

    Academic text (1996)

  • A big objective for Metabolic Health Summit is really to bridge the gap from science to implementation.

    FoundMyFitness

  • At ISU, professional practice has been a successful means of bridging the gap between the classroom and the field.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

to bridge
vsto bridge the gap
50 3.9

To connect two people or groups to reduce a gap between them

focuses on easing communication and understanding between groups rather than general connection
to liaise
vsto bridge the gap
  • Formal
11 7.0

To act as a link between people or groups to help them work together

includes broader efforts to make groups communicate and understand each other
to act as a liaison
vsto bridge the gap
1 5.2

To connect two groups so they can communicate and work together

focuses on reducing differences so groups can understand and connect better
to bridge over
vsto bridge the gap
4.8

Make a connection between two things or people, for example to reduce differences

is the same meaning but uses a different phrasal verb form
to break down the stovepipe
vsto bridge the gap
  • Jargon
8.4

To remove communication barriers between teams so they can work together

applies more widely to any groups or ideas, not only organizational units

Antonyms

to divide us further
6.5

Cause people to disagree and feel less united

How Connected

to bridge the gap
  • Informal
17 4.0
to reconcile
38 5.1

Surface Forms

bridge the gap infinitive
bridged the gap past
bridged the gap past participle
bridging the gap present participle
bridges the gap third person singular

Morphology

bridge + the + gap

The verb 'bridge' (to connect or close a gap) combined with the noun 'gap' directly yields the meaning of reducing a difference or connecting two groups; this is a straightforward compositional mapping. The construction is a common metaphorical but predictable pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Bridge the gap comes from the simple image of building a bridge over a gap or empty space between two sides; once there is a bridge, people or ideas can cross and meet. So the phrase means 'to make it easier for two groups to connect or understand each other'.