FluentPlex

gasp

/ɡæsp/ verb C1
  1. To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock. (intransitive) · The audience gasped as the magician disappeared.
  2. To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion; to respire with heaving of the breast; to pant. (intransitive) · We were all gasping when we reached the summit.· c. 1761-1764, Robert Lloyd, An Epistle to C. Churchill, Author of the Rosicad She gasps and struggles hard for life.
  3. To speak in a breathless manner. (transitive) · The old man gasped his last few words.
  4. To pant with eagerness or excitement; to show vehement desire. · I'm gasping for a cup of tea.

He/she/it gasps · Past gasped · Past participle gasped · -ing form gasping

+ Save to review

Verb forms

Base form
gasp
He/she/it
gasps
Past
gasped
Past participle
gasped
-ing form
gasping

From the library

Yielding up her last breath, she gasped forth this lament: “O wretched creature that I am!
Three Hundred Aesop's Fables, p. 37 · B2
“They’ve taken his wedding ring!” he gasped.
The Valley of Fear, p. 32 · C1
Anne gave one gasping little scream which nobody ever heard; she was white to the lips, but she did not lose her self-possession.
Anne of Green Gables, p. 223 · C1
Charpentier’s lips with many gasps and pauses.
A Study in Scarlet, p. 64 · B2

Other matches

Learn gasp in real texts

With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.

Create free account
Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.