gasp

Pluralgasps

Formsgasps, gasping, gasped

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A short, sudden drawing-in of breath, often caused by surprise, shock, or pain.

   A collective gasp rose from the audience as the acrobat slipped.

   He gave a sharp gasp at the sudden cold of the water.

2. 2
   verbintransitive

   To draw in breath suddenly, as if from a shock or startle.

   The crowd gasped as the magician seemed to vanish.

   Readers gasp when they reach the revelation in the final chapter.

   Note

   A word that began with an open mouth: Middle English gaspen meant "to gape, outbreathe," and it likely comes from Old Norse geispa, "to yawn." In this sense it takes no object. An audience simply gasps, and the trigger is surprise or shock, not effort. That sets it apart from the panting of exertion, where the breathing is quick and sustained rather than a single startled intake.

3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To breathe quickly or laboriously, as after exertion, with the chest heaving; to pant.

   She gasped for breath after sprinting the final lap.

   Swimmers gasp as they surface from a long underwater stretch.

   Similarpant, puff, wheeze

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To utter something in a breathless manner, the words broken by short, labored breaths.

   "It's gone," he gasped, clutching his chest.

   Patients sometimes gasp their last words before slipping into unconsciousness.

   Similarpant, wheeze, croak, rasp

   Note

   Here the verb turns transitive and takes the words themselves as its object: the old man gasped his last few words. The breathlessness moves from the lungs into the speech, so the object is always something said. Unlike the startled intake, which stands alone, this use needs either an object or a quoted line to report.

5. 5
   verbintransitive

   To long for something with eager, panting intensity; to show vehement desire.

   The prisoners gasped for liberty after years behind bars.

   Young writers gasp for recognition, hungry for any sign of praise.

   Similaryearn, long, hunger, thirst, pine

   Note

   Desire borrowed from breathlessness: wanting something badly is pictured as panting for it, and the usual construction is gasp for. Everyday speech uses it with mild exaggeration, as in I'm gasping for a cup of tea. Edmund Spenser, in the "Aprill" eclogue of 1579, gives the longing to the land itself, writing of "the gasping furrows' thirst" for rain.

6. 6
   interjectionhumorous

   An exclamation imitating a sharp intake of breath, used to express surprise or, often, mock astonishment.

   Gasp! The villain was hiding behind the curtain the whole time.

   He clutched his collar and cried, "Gasp! Not the good china!"

7. 7
   nounslangBritishcountable

   A single draw or drag on a cigarette.

   He nipped out for a quick gasp between shifts at the pub.

   Give us a gasp of that, mate, I've run out.

   Similardrag, puff, pull

   Note

   Smokers' slang from Britain, and a near relation of gasper, a slang name for the cigarette itself. It turns up most naturally in easygoing talk about a short break, such as popping out for a gasp, and it belongs to relaxed speech rather than careful writing. Without a cigarette or a smoking break in view, a listener will hear the sudden breath instead.

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