gapeEnglishOxford American Thesaurusgape verb 1 she gaped at him in astonishment: stare, stare open-mouthed, stare in wonder, gawk, goggle, gaze, ogle, look fixedly, look vacantly; informal rubberneck; British, informal gawp. 2 he wore a leather jerkin which gaped at every seam: open wide, open up, yawn; part, crack, split.