parasitic gap

noun

A construction wherein the dropping of an argument is dependent on a covarying argument having been fronted in a local context, as in "Which book did she review without reading?".

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Meanings

nounparasitic gap (plural parasitic gaps)

plural parasitic gaps

  1. grammarA construction wherein the dropping of an argument is dependent on a covarying argument having been fronted in a local context, as in "Which book did she review without reading?".
Cite this entry
APA

parasitic gap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gap

MLA

“parasitic gap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gap. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parasitic gap,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitic%20gap.

Source: parasitic gap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.