spacer

noun

spac·​er ˈspā-sər 

plural spacers

: a device or piece used to create or maintain a desired amount of space (as between two parts)

As long as your joints look even, it's more important that you avoid a large grout line at the last tile than worry about sticking to the exact measurement of the spacer.

—Jennifer Stimpson

Stiff spacers of low-expansion materials … may be used to provide a fixed spacing between the end mirrors.

—Arthur L. Schawlow

Use wood shims or spacers where necessary to compensate for wavy ceilings and to make certain the bottom surfaces of all strips are flush.

—Bernard Gladstone

Examples of spacer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were effective spacers. —Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024

Yet with a bounce back last season, Robinson stands as vital to the Heat as ever, a floor spacer for a team in desperate need of floor spacing. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 28 Sep. 2024

Bridges could run the second unit with McBride acting as a dangerous spacer in the half court. —Fred Katz, The Athletic, 26 Aug. 2024

The inhaler could be quickly attached to a plastic tube, called a spacer, which children could use with little effort. —Dr. Sejal Parekh, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

spacer

noun

spac·​er ˈspā-sər 

: a region of chromosomal DNA between genes that is not transcribed into messenger RNA and is of uncertain function