Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To draw in the breath sharply, as from shock.
- v. To breathe convulsively or laboriously.
- v. To utter in a breathless manner.
- n. A short convulsive intake or catching of the breath.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To labor for breath with open mouth; respire convulsively; pant with great effort.
- To desire with eagerness; crave vehemently.
- To emit or utter gaspingly: with away, forth, out, etc.
- n. The act of catching the breath with open mouth; labored respiration; a short, convulsive catching of the breath.
Wiktionary
- n. A short, sudden intake of breath.
- n. : A draw or drag on a cigarette (or gasper).
- v. : To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
- v. : To breathe laboriously or convulsively.
- v. : To speak in a breathless manner
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To open the mouth wide in catching the breath, or in laborious respiration; to labor for breath; to respire convulsively; to pant violently.
- v. To pant with eagerness; to show vehement desire.
- v. To emit or utter with gasps; -- with
forth ,out ,away , etc. - n. The act of opening the mouth convulsively to catch the breath; a labored respiration; a painful catching of the breath.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
- v. breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
Etymologies
- Middle English gaspen, gaispen, to gape, yawn, from Old Norse geispa, to yawn.
Examples
“I hear a gasp from the hundreds gathered below as a rushing fills my head, a crescendo like music, a roar like waves – and I am ecstatic, and filled with wonder, joy and gratitude.”
Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Thablue’s Review Forum
“The sudden plunge into darkness and the sad gasp from the air conditioning unit was a reminder of the regular power cuts that plague the country.”
“The collective gasp is so loud the ducks take flight, filling the air with their honking.”
“The only reply the three gave was to lower their hoods, bringing a gasp from the fat inn-keep.”
“I kept gasping in horror but a horrified gasp is really just an emphatic hmm.”
The Huffington Post: Erica Kennedy: Are Marie Claire and CBS Wagging the Dog?
“After their names were announced, the judges 'mouths dropped, and you could hear a collective gasp from the studio audience.”
“When I went to the midnight showing of Twilight Peter got the biggest gasp from the audience!”
“Now our children face the terrifying reality that their candy may contain [gasp!] bacon.”
You know it’s time to stop blogging about bacon… « The Blog at 16th and Q
“I've heard Hillary Clinton tell the story many times in speeches, and it rarely fails to bring a horrified gasp from the crowd: An uninsured and pregnant Ohio woman, working for minimum wage at a pizza parlor, is turned away from a hospital because she can't come up with $100.”
Oops. Another Clinton Story Turns Out To Be Not So True - Swampland - TIME.com
“And the other half saw it as the last gasp from a species ill-suited to survive in the current environment where results can actually be measured.”
Will Publishers Lose Their Bacon if Ads Are Traded Like Pork Bellies? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘gasp’.
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grade 3
ability, absorb, act, tive, actual, adopt, advantage, ambition, ancient, arrange, arctic, attitude and 125 more...
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sound (loud)
words for loud sounds
( descriptive, randomness )crash, thud, bump, thump, boom, smash, explode, roar, scream, screech, short, yell and 167 more...
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onomatopoeia
hiccup, burp, gasp, quack, zipper, wip-poor-will, bling, frumpy, ropey, ratchet, squish, cackle and 1 more...
Louises Pressed the hand to the panel and received, like magic, the string of blips, the gasp, the open door. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.
Apr 1, 2012
PossibleUnderscore "Fight till the last gasp."
-Henry VI Part 2, Shakespeare
(I think it's part 2??) Jul 26, 2009