gasps

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of gasp.

   The audience gasps whenever the magician seems to vanish.

   A swimmer gasps for breath after pushing for the finish.

   Note

   Most uses take no object: a crowd gasps at a shock, a runner gasps after exertion. One use is transitive, with the words themselves as the object, as in "he gasps a warning," where the speech comes out breathless. A figurative use describes eager longing, panting with desire rather than with effort. The -s form appears only with a third-person singular subject.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of gasp.

   Audible gasps rippled through the theater as the magician vanished.

   Her sudden announcement drew gasps from everyone in the room.

   Note

   The plural covers both nouns behind gasp: sudden intakes of breath, and, in British slang, drags on a cigarette (a gasper). Context nearly always settles which is meant, since only the second involves smoking. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb. In "the gasps" a determiner marks the noun, while in "she gasps" a subject marks the verb.

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