space |spās|noun1 a continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or unoccupied : a table took up much of the space | we shall all be living together in a small space| he backed out of the parking space.• an area of land that is not occupied by buildings : she had a love of open spaces.• an empty area left between one-, two-, or three-dimensional points or objects : the space between a wall and a utility pipe.• a blank between printed, typed, or written words, characters, numbers, etc.• Music each of the four gaps between the five lines of a staff.• an interval of time (often used to suggest that the time is short, considering what has happened or been achieved in it) : both their cars were stolen in the space of three days.• pages in a newspaper, or time between television or radio programs, available for advertising.• (also commercial space) an area rented or sold as business premises.• the amount of paper used or needed to write about a subject : there is no space to give further details.• the freedom and scope to live, think, and develop in a way that suits one : a teenager needing her own space.• Telecommunications one of two possible states of a signal in certain systems. The opposite of mark 1 (sense 2).2 the dimensions of height, depth, and width within which all things exist and move : the work gives the sense of a journey in space and time.• (also outer space) the physical universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.• the near vacuum extending between the planets and stars, containing small amounts of gas and dust.• Mathematics a mathematical concept generally regarded as a set of points having some specified structure.verb1 [ trans. ] (usu. be spaced) position (two or more items) at a distance from one another : the houses are spaced out.• (in printing or writing) put blanks between (words, letters, or lines) :[as n. ] ( spacing) the default setting is single line spacing.2 (usu. be spaced out or space out) informal be or become distracted, euphoric, or disoriented, esp. from taking drugs; cease to be aware of one's surroundings : I was so tired that I began to feel totally spaced out | I kind of space out for a few minutes.PHRASESwatch this space informal further developments are expected and more information will be given later.DERIVATIVESspacer nounORIGIN Middle English : shortening of Old French espace, from Latinspatium. Current verb senses date from the late 17th cent.