Noun

(en noun)

(architecture) A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. Hence, any similar position, literal or figurative.

"Images defended from the injuries of the weather by niches of stone wherein they are placed." --Evelyn.

(biology) A function within an ecological system to which an organism is especially suited.

(by extension) Any position of opportunity for which one is well-suited, such as a particular market in business.

An arrow woven into a Muslim prayer rug pointing in the direction of Mecca.

Noun

(en noun)

An opening in anything made by breaking or parting.

An opening allowing passage or entrance.

An opening that implies a breach or defect.

A vacant space or time.

A hiatus.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= The machine of a new soul , passage=The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.}}

A mountain or hill pass.

(label) A sheltered area of coast between two cliffs (mostly restricted to place names).

(label) The regions between the outfielders.

The shortfall between the amount the medical insurer will pay to the service provider and the scheduled fee for the item.

* 2008 , Eileen Willis, Louise Reynolds, Helen Keleher, Understanding the Australian Health Care System , page 5,

Under bulk billing the patient does not pay a gap , and the medical practitioner receives 85% of the scheduled fee.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 13, author=Andrew Benson, work=BBC Sport

, title= Williams's Pastor Maldonado takes landmark Spanish Grand Prix win , passage=That left Maldonado with a 6.2-second lead. Alonso closed in throughout their third stints, getting the gap down to 4.2secs before Maldonado stopped for the final time on lap 41.}}

* {{quote-book, year=1995, author=Robert E. Knoll, chapter=A University on the Defensive 1920-1927

, title= Prairie University: A History of the University of Nebraska, page=70 , passage=When Charles Bessey suddenly died in 1916 at age seventy, he left a gap that was impossible to fill; and though his protégé. R. J. Pool, was a man of intelligence and character, he did not have Bessey’s authority.}}

(label) (usually written as "the gap") The disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities with regard to life expectancy, education, health, etc.