Space

/speɪs/

nounBeginner🔥Very CommonGeneral
4 meanings3 idioms/phrases3 questions

Definitions

4 meanings
1

The limitless three-dimensional realm that contains all matter and is outside the Earth's atmosphere.

/speɪs/

nounneutralBeginner
General

The boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction.

Astronauts explore the mysteries of outer space.

💡 Simply: Imagine looking up at the stars at night. All that empty, dark area where the stars are is space. It's like a giant playground that goes on forever!

👶 For kids: The big, big place where stars and planets are, way, way up high.

More Examples

2

The rocket launched into space.

3

The satellite sends information from space back to Earth.

How It's Used

Astronomy

"The Hubble telescope has provided stunning images of deep space."

Science Fiction

"Starships travel through the vast expanse of space."

2

An empty or available area; an interval of time.

/speɪs/

nounneutralBeginner
General

An area or extent that is available or free for a specific purpose.

There's not enough space in the car for all the luggage.

💡 Simply: Think of the empty area in your room. You have space to move around, play games, or put furniture. Or think about a parking spot -- it provides space for the car.

👶 For kids: The empty spot or place where you can put something or do something.

More Examples

2

We need more space between the tables.

3

The new office has ample workspace for everyone.

How It's Used

Interior Design

"The architect designed the building to maximize living space."

Computer Science

"The computer has limited hard drive space."

Tip:Think of the area in a room or a vacant parking spot – that's space.
3

A gap or period of time between events or activities.

/speɪs/

nounneutralmedium
General

An interval of time, or a period.

Give me some space to think about it.

💡 Simply: When you need a break from someone or something, that's space. It's the room or time you need for yourself. Sometimes, you might want space to breathe and do something different.

👶 For kids: A little bit of time between doing one thing and doing another thing.

More Examples

2

There was a space of several years between the events.

3

Please leave a space between your lines of text.

How It's Used

General

"Give the team some space to resolve this on their own."

Business

"We needed more space between appointments to avoid overlap."

Tip:Think about the space in between two things. It can also be an interval in time.
4

To place or set something at intervals or with a space between.

/speɪs/

verbneutralmedium
General

To arrange objects with intervals between them.

The letters are spaced too far apart.

💡 Simply: Imagine you are setting up the chairs. You need to space them out so everyone has room to sit and move around, like that you've got the chairs spread far apart from each other, right?

👶 For kids: To put things with some room between them.

More Examples

2

She carefully spaced the plants in the garden.

3

He spaced out the bullet points for clarity.

How It's Used

Typography

"The editor spaced out the lines for better readability."

General

"The artist spaced the objects evenly across the canvas."

Tip:Think about setting things a bit apart – that's spacing.

Idioms & expressions

space out

To lose concentration and become unaware of one's surroundings; to daydream.

"During the boring lecture, he started to space out."

personal space

The physical space around a person that they consider private.

"Respecting personal space is important in social interactions."

in space

Located beyond the Earth's atmosphere

"The astronauts are working in space."

From Middle English *spas*, from Old French *espace*, from Latin *spatium* ('a space, a distance').

The word 'space' has been used to describe the physical realm since the 14th century.

Memory tip

Think of the vastness of the universe; that's space.

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"spatium (space, distance)"

outer spacepersonal spaceliving spaceworkspacespace travel

Common misspellings

spasespaes

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written