spacing

Pluralspacings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The way in which objects or people are separated from one another by spaces.

   Foresters chose a tight spacing so the young pines would grow straight.

   The spacing of the dancers across the stage kept the formation balanced.

   Similararrangement, distribution, layout, placement

2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The amount of space lying between two objects or people.

   The architect measured the spacing between each window before approving the design.

   A narrow spacing separated the two hikers as they crossed the ridge.

   Similardistance, gap, interval, separation, clearance

   Note

   Here the word measures the gap itself, and it takes a plural when the gaps are counted. Keith Brindley's Starting Electronics (2011) tells breadboards apart by "the spacings and the positionings of the holes." Used as a mass noun, it means how much room there is, as in more spacing between two words. Keep it distinct from the overall arrangement, which describes the pattern rather than any one distance.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The act of arranging or separating items by putting spaces between them.

   Proper spacing of the rows is the first step in planting a vineyard.

   The spacing of the guests' chairs took the staff an hour before the ceremony.

   Similararrangement, placement, positioning, distribution

4. 4
   verb

   Present participle of space.

   The gardener is spacing the bulbs so they have room to flower.

   Spacing the rows by hand takes more time than using a machine.

   Note

   One -ing form doing two jobs: participle in "is spacing the bulbs," gerund in "spacing the rows takes time." The gerund keeps a direct object, while the noun for the act takes of instead (the spacing of the rows), and only the noun has a plural, spacings. The form serves every sense of the verb, from setting things apart to spacing out in a dull meeting, or even ejecting someone into outer space.

5. 5
   adjective

   Serving to insert space between two objects.

   A thin spacing layer holds the panes apart in a double-glazed window.

   The machine uses a spacing arm to keep the bottles from knocking together.

   Similarseparating

6. 6
   noununcountable

   The activity of working or living in outer space, as a spacer's occupation.

   Decades of spacing had thinned his bones and dulled any wish to return planetside.

   Children born into spacing often never set foot on a planet until they are grown.

   Note

   Science fiction treats travel among the stars as a trade, the way an earlier age spoke of seafaring. Alfred Coppel's "Runaway" in Planet Stories (1949) has an old hand who "loved spacing," and BioWare's Mass Effect 2 (2010) has a partner who "took to spacing." Take to is its natural verb, as with any calling one chooses, and the word sits beside spacer, the person who follows it.

Showing meanings only. Show all 6