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 Web
Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024
Inside the courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Colombo’s mother, Tonya Colombo, gasped as the verdict was read.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Oct. 2024
Gerui Wang, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
The gasps, the smiles, the radiant looks of happiness in their eyes.
—EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gasp 
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Verb
The nearly 60,000-strong crowd gasped collectively as Martin momentarily disappeared.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024
Inside the courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Colombo’s mother, Tonya Colombo, gasped as the verdict was read.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
Their faces spoke louder: frowns of frustration, gasps of shock, squints of doubt, bursts of laughter, pouts of disappointment.
—Gerui Wang, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
The gasps, the smiles, the radiant looks of happiness in their eyes.
—EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gasp
Dictionary Entries Near gasp
Cite this Entry
“Gasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gasp. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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