fill the gap

Meaning

To 'fill the gap' means to provide something that is missing, needed, or lacking. In business, it often refers to meeting an unmet market demand, covering a temporary staff shortage, or addressing a skill deficiency.

Examples

• Our new product line is designed to fill the gap in the mid-range smartphone market.

  Our new product line is designed to fill the gap in the mid-range smartphone market.

• We hired a freelance designer to fill the gap until we find a permanent replacement.

  We hired a freelance designer to fill the gap until we find a permanent replacement.

• The training program was created to fill the gap in our employees' digital skills.

  The training program was created to fill the gap in our employees' digital skills.

• There is a massive gap in the market, and our startup aims to fill the gap quickly.

  There is a massive gap in the market, and our startup aims to fill the gap quickly.

• To fill the gap left by the retired manager, Sarah took on extra responsibilities.

  To fill the gap left by the retired manager, Sarah took on extra responsibilities.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to fill the hole in our customer service team.

  ✓ We need to fill the gap in our customer service team.

  While 'hole' is sometimes used informally, 'fill the gap' is the standard, professional idiom for addressing a deficiency or vacancy.

• ✗ The new software will complete the gap of our workflow.

  ✓ The new software will fill the gap in our workflow.

  The standard verb collocation is 'fill' (not 'complete'), and the preposition used is 'in' (not 'of').

Related Expressions

Practice

• The company launched a new service to ___ left by their main competitor's departure.

  💡 To supply what is missing.

  Show answer

  fill the gap

• We brought in temporary consultants to ___ while our senior developers were away.

  💡 To temporarily cover a shortage.

  Show answer

  fill the gap