gasped; gasping; gasps
1
: to catch the breath convulsively and audibly (as with shock)
2
: to breathe laboriously
: to utter in a gasping manner
plural gasps
: an act of gasping : a sudden loud intake of breath with one's mouth because of surprise, shock, pain, etc.
He let out an audible gasp at the sight of the snake.
a gasp of surprise
His eyes looked wild and strange from the fever; he trembled continuously, and each breath he took sounded like a gasp for life.—
Robert C. O'Brien
Robert C. O'BrienIn the next hour Lemieux drew gasps from the crowd half a dozen more times …—E. M. Swift
E. M. SwiftSynonyms
Examples of gasp in a Sentence
Verb
Mom gasped in surprise at the sight of my sister's new haircut.
He gasped as he stepped into the icy water.
a dying man gasping for breath
She was gasping for air.
Recent Examples on the WebTheresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
Routine tasks such as weeding in the backyard now leave him gasping for air after 40 minutes.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gasp 
Verb
In June 2017 at about 2 a.m., an infant boy was suffering medical issues that included vomiting and gasping for air after feeding, alleged the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2018 in Sacramento Superior Court.
—Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
Routine tasks such as weeding in the backyard now leave him gasping for air after 40 minutes.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gasp
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gasp.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near gasp
Cite this Entry
“Gasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gasp. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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