ease the gap

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'ease the gap' is correct and usable in written English.
It is usually used to describe the act of making a difficult transition more simple or effortless. For example, "The new program helped to ease the gap between underprivileged students and more affluent peers."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

We'll be taking a close look at whether this can help to ease the gap in specialist homes supply as well as benefiting the wider housing market.

The Guardian

They demand that it ease the gap between rich and poor and address hardships caused by a housing shortage and unaffordable rents.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

Massa began to pull away again, easing the gap open to 4 seconds by lap 32, while Hamilton locked his front-left wheel as he tried to keep up with the Ferrari, flat-spotting the tyre in the process.

Wikipedia

Even in a solo primary race, reporters will scrutinize not only Hillary Clinton's record but also her hawkish foreign-policy impulses, the dealings of the Clinton Global Initiative, and the contradiction between the need to ease the inequality gap and the candidate's tropism toward big money.

The New Yorker

In conclusion the paper underlines the potential of NAS to ease the infrastructure gap in water globally by stressing the advantages of investment in the protection, enhancement and restoration of natural capital as an effective climate change adaptation investment.

Environmental Research

How will the city try to ease the pension gap?

Huffington Post

Compounding the problem would be upward pressure on housing prices that a UBI may spur.Beyond these economic uncertainties, a basic income would do little to ease the indignity of the wealth gap.

The Economist

The central bank faces a new intertemporal trade-off, not present under rational expectations: it is optimal to forego stabilizing the economy in the present in order to facilitate private sector learning and thus ease the future intratemporal inflation-output gap trade-offs.

European Economic Review

The governor pushed for sweeping action in 2011 to close a funding gap and ease the burden on taxpayers.

Los Angeles Times

Previous findings indicate that patients prefer to be seen by familiar providers (24, 35), and the ideas shared by this study's participants suggest that introducing pediatric patients to the transition clinic providers prior to transfer may ease the transfer and potentially reduce gaps in care.

Diabetes Care

Bellman's GAP is a new programming system, designed to ease the development of bioinformatics tools based on the dynamic programming technique.

Bioinformatics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "ease the gap", consider the specific type of gap you are addressing (e.g., income, achievement, cultural). This adds clarity and precision to your writing.

Common error

Avoid using "ease the gap" when you mean to completely eliminate a problem. The phrase suggests making a situation less severe, not eradicating it entirely.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "ease the gap" functions as a verb phrase where "ease" acts as a transitive verb, taking "the gap" as its direct object. This signifies an action performed on the gap to diminish it. Ludwig AI confirms this usage through example sentences.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

15%

Less common in

Wiki

15%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "ease the gap" is a grammatically sound and understandable way to express the reduction of a disparity or difference. Ludwig AI confirms this, showing its use in contexts ranging from socioeconomic inequalities to sporting events. While not extremely common, its usage is consistent enough to be considered a valid and useful expression. It's important to consider the type of gap you're referencing and avoid using it if you intend to convey complete elimination rather than mitigation.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

Diminish the gap

Implies making a gap smaller, often in terms of quantity or size.

Narrow the divide

Emphasizes making a pre-existing separation smaller.

Reduce the distance

Highlights making things less separate or apart.

Close the distance

Focuses on eliminating or nearly eliminating a separation.

Bridge the divide

Focuses on connecting two distinct entities, often with an emotional or ideological separation.

Alleviate the difference

Suggests relieving the negative effects of a discrepancy.

Soften the contrast

Emphasizes making opposing things less distinguishable or harsh.

Mitigate the disparity

Highlights reducing inequality, especially in a social or economic context.

Lessen the inequality

Directly addresses reducing differences in status or opportunity.

Minimize the separation

Stresses reducing a distinction to the smallest possible degree.

FAQs

How can I use "ease the gap" in a sentence?

You can use "ease the gap" to describe efforts to lessen a disparity, for example, "The new educational program aims to "ease the gap" between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds".

What's a good substitute for "ease the gap"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "narrow the divide", "bridge the gap", or "mitigate the disparity".

Is it correct to say "easing the gap"?

Yes, "easing the gap" is grammatically correct and functions as a gerund phrase. For example, "Easing the gap in access to healthcare is a key priority".

What kind of gap are we referring to when we say "ease the gap"?

The "gap" in ""ease the gap"" typically refers to a disparity or inequality, such as an income gap, achievement gap, or opportunity gap. Its meaning changes depending on the context.