spacing

/ˈspeɪsɪŋ/

spacing is the present participle and gerund of space.

Noun

spacing (countable and uncountable, plural spacings)

The action of the verb space.
A way in which objects or people are separated by spaces.
- The spacing of the desks in the exam hall was intended to prevent candidates from copying each other's work.
The space between two objects or people.
- Put some more spacing between those two words to make them more readable.
- If you are following a book like Starting Electronics, however, a breadboard is even more useful. […] Differences lie between breadboards in the spacings and the positionings of the holes, and the number of holes in each group.2011 August 2, Keith Brindley, Starting Electronics, page 18
The activity of working or living in outer space; the occupation of a spacer.
- He was a laconic old soul who loved spacing only a jot better than he loved Martian alky.1949 February, Alfred Coppel, “Runaway”, in Planet Stories, volume 4, number 2 (Spring)
- Shepard: You don't seem too broken up about your partner's death.
  Pitne For: Dakni Kur knew the risks when he took to spacing. Right now, my worry is me.
  Pitne For: It's unhealthy to be a volus in the Nos Astra spaceport right now. Especially a volus named Pitne For!2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2: Normandy Crash Site (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Nos Astra spaceport, Illium

space (third-person singular simple present spaces, present participle spacing, simple past and past participle spaced)

(intransitive, obsolete) To roam, walk, wander.
- But she as Fayes are wont, in priuie place / Did spend her dayes, and lov'd in forests wyld to space.1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii
(transitive) To set some distance apart.
- Faye had spaced the pots at 8-inch intervals on the windowsill.
To insert or utilise spaces in a written text.
- This paragraph seems badly spaced.
To space out (become distracted, lose focus).
- My sprout, like I'm totally spaced over you and besides I like older women (arh-arh). I love you...1986 August 16, “Happy Birthday Doo (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 5, page 13
(transitive) To kill (someone) by ejection into outer space, usually without a space suit.
- The captain spaced the traitors.
(intransitive) To travel into and through outer space.
- He well remembered, when he was a junior officer, how the sight of a well dressed, impeccably neat commanding officer, no matter how long they had been spacing, maintained the enthusiasm, confidence and morale of the officers and men.1947 January, Bernard I. Kahn, “Command”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 38, number 5

spacing (not comparable)

SPACing

plural	spacings

2 more rhymesFewer rhymes

What does spacing mean?: Spacing means the action of the verb space.
What is spacing the present participle and gerund of?: Spacing is the present participle and gerund of space.
What part of speech is spacing?: Spacing can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce spacing?: Spacing is pronounced /ˈspeɪsɪŋ/.
What is the plural of spacing?: The plural of spacing is spacings.

Adapted from Wiktionary: spacing (page history and authors); SPACing (page history and authors); space (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-spacing.wav.

Cite this entry: “spacing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spacing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.