gapper
gapper — noun
1. someone who has completed secondary school and chooses to spend a year working,
someone who has completed secondary school and chooses to spend a year working, travelling, or volunteering before starting university or other higher education.
After handing in his textbooks, Quan signed up as a gapper teaching English in Vietnam.
gapper + teaching [language] in [country] — typical work context
The hostel in Buenos Aires was full of Australian gappers travelling across South America.
nationality + gapper + travelling — common travel pattern
Beatrix worked as a gapper on an organic farm in New Zealand for six months.
Many gappers return from their year abroad with a clearer idea of what to study.
Layla worked as a gapper at a school in rural Thailand before starting her degree.
- gap year student
more formal and transparent; used in official applications and documents rather than casual conversation.
- backpacker
broader — refers to anyone travelling with a backpack on a budget; does not imply the educational before-university context.
- volunteer
narrower — only applies if the gapper is doing unpaid work; not all gappers volunteer.
文法句型
[nationality/adjective] + gapper
work as a gapper
gapper + verb (teach, travel, volunteer)
用法筆記
Primarily British English and used in informal contexts. Gapper is less commonly used in American English, where 'gap year student' or simply 'student on a gap year' is more typical.