How to Use gasp in a Sentence

gasp

1 of 2 verb
  • He gasped as he stepped into the icy water.
  • She was gasping for air.
  • Mom gasped in surprise at the sight of my sister's new haircut.
  • Sharon moved here from Seattle in 1977 and gasped at the heat.
    Karina Bland, azcentral, 29 Apr. 2020
  • Tatum hit three of them, the last a nasty stepback from the top of the key that made the crowd here gasp.
    BostonGlobe.com, 21 Nov. 2019
  • The first among our group glanced at her phone to read a text, gasped and turned away.
    Roy S. Johnson | Rjohnson@al.com, al, 23 Oct. 2019
  • The video showed Garcia gasping for air on the couch in his home.
    Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 9 May 2023
  • Wade gasped in grief, reaching out to what was left of her son.
    Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2023
  • Those who gasp in dismay prove themselves to be the snobs.
    New York Times, 9 Apr. 2021
  • This is cut week, after all, and the Raiders need to trim their roster from 90 to — gasp! — 53.
    Chuck Barney, The Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2019
  • There will be no ballroom packed with mega-stars to laugh or gasp when the hosts launch their best lines.
    Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 25 Feb. 2021
  • The pepper-spray left Glaze unable to see briefly and caused him to gasp for air, the lawsuit says.
    Adam Ferrise, cleveland, 27 Nov. 2019
  • White then tossed it high, causing the crowd at the Don Hutson Center to gasp.
    Nicole Yang, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The first time Gaga went for the kiss, the audience audibly gasped.
    Amy Zimmerman, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2023
  • Both defenses are going to be gasping for air by the end of the night.
    Jeremy Cluff, azcentral, 11 Sep. 2019
  • Sure, the unwed pregnant teen of the lyrics was keeping her baby, but gasp, the shame of it all.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2023
  • On this trip, the passengers gasp at the squadron of five bald eagles overhead.
    Robert N. Jenkins, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • The pair of San Diego stunners, separated by just 6 ½ miles, caused the country to gasp all the same.
    Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2023
  • There are paintings here that leave you gasping for air.
    Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023
  • All of a sudden, mid-stream of thought, Marina Abramović gasps, then leaps to her feet.
    Vogue, 23 Sep. 2023
  • Gagnon, off to the side, his finger hovering over the button, must have gasped.
    Washington Post, 2 June 2023
  • Just as the crowd was gasping, though, Brown was called for an offensive foul.
    BostonGlobe.com, 23 Dec. 2019
  • Today we are more tempted to gasp in shock and call out a warning: Wake up!
    Peter C. Baker, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2019
  • Eight games later with the Browns gasping for air at 2-6, Vegas won’t even take that bet.
    Joey Morona, cleveland, 7 Nov. 2019
  • In a magic show, this is the moment when the audience gasps—then applauds.
    Stephen Lezak, The New Republic, 15 June 2023
  • Folks would gasp as the bird launched into the air, perfectly timed with the soaring music.
    Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 28 July 2022
  • Limbaugh gasped and teared up when Mr. Trump made the announcement.
    Grace Segers, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2020
  • The crowd could be heard to gasp in a YouTube video, which has racked up more than 3.4 million views since being posted Feb. 18.
    Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2023
  • The first boy then punches Diego, now on the ground, as students can be heard gasping and screaming.
    Author: Kim Bellware, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Sep. 2019
  • When the two walked in, the teenagers beamed and gasped with excitement before sharing handshakes and hugs with the players.
    Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2019
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gasp

2 of 2 noun
  • There would be a gasp on the other end of the call, then shock.
    John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Words designed to send a gasp through a room and a chill down a kid's spine, the coup de grâce of dares.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 19 Nov. 2022
  • His block of Xavier Moon’s drive attempt in the fourth quarter made the crowd gasp.
    oregonlive, 3 Oct. 2022
  • At the event, Raibert showed a video that made the audience gasp.
    IEEE Spectrum, 14 Feb. 2023
  • There was a gasp from the gallery when the first innocent verdict was read.
    Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 22 Dec. 2023
  • Rather, the abduction was met by chuckles from the crowd, with a few gasps from those not in on the joke.
    Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2023
  • The round petered out—the last gasp of my obsession with these sorts of games.
    Moya Lothian-McLean, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2022
  • If that happens, your cast iron may end up *gasp* with some rust.
    Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2023
  • As the man struggled to breathe, the swastika tattooed on his chest rose and fell with each gasp.
    Taylor Kate Brown, SFChronicle.com, 1 Dec. 2020
  • And then there’s that cameo, the one likely to elicit gasps from longtime fans.
    Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Snow patches clung to craggy rock faces — a rare sight in the last gasps of summer.
    Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023
  • The entire film was shot in just 19 days — a stat that elicited gasps from the audience.
    Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023
  • Jenner completed the look with loose, lengthy waves and a—gasp—side part.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 7 Apr. 2022
  • First, the young one hiding behind a tree, who let out a gasp and collapsed.
    Siobhán O'Grady, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2023
  • The mines’ scale can draw gasps from people in the power industry.
    Gabriel J.x. Dance Zach Levitt, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2023
  • By the time the actors were kissing, the gasps, shrieks and applause were deafening.
    Selome Hailu, Variety, 17 Mar. 2024
  • The final gasp was a failed fourth-down pass from Jaxson Dart to Jonathan Mingo with less than a minute to play.
    Michael Casagrande | McAsagrande@al.com, al, 13 Nov. 2022
  • Hero of the hour plaudits instead went to Luuk de Jong with his last gasp bullet header at the death.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 12 Apr. 2022
  • Carvalho said that a gasp was not the same as breathing and told her to keep up the compressions.
    Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Balayage This cascading mane of rose brown is the look that launched a thousand gasps.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
  • The news elicited audible gasps from staff, parents and others in the room.
    Pioneer Press Staff, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2023
  • Families took to the runway; cute kids made the audience gasp, and the styling showcased the wide breadth of what the world of Ralph has to offer.
    Nikki Ogunnaike, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Granada’s last gasp was a 3-pointer from Lomba at the buzzer for the final margin.
    Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024
  • For the next 43 minutes, gasps of recognition ensued as the two works seemed to merge and play off each other.
    Matt Curtis, New York Times, 21 June 2023
  • Breathing seemed to take all her strength, jerking her little body with each gasp.
    Saeed Shah, WSJ, 28 Jan. 2022
  • Some Democrats believe, or at least want to hope, that this is sort of a Republican last gasp.
    Michael Sokolove, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022
  • She’s worked with legendary directors and up-and-comers and has even — gasp! — done TV.
    Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Looking for a gasp-inducing bake to impress your new in-laws?
    Nina Moskowitz, Bon Appétit, 14 Feb. 2023
  • Starting your job hunt while you’re—gasp—still employed?
    Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2022
  • One final gasp from the Knights in the fourth was answered when Moody and Martinez went coast-to-coast off steals for a commanding 66-54 lead.
    Matt Doherty, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Jan. 2023

Some of 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.

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