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. SwiftExamples 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
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2025
Voices gasped, exhaled for a beat, then rose up in screams of horror.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Salah held his nerve to hammer the last-gasp penalty past Martin Dubravka after Hannibal had handled Jeremie Frimpong’s cross deep into stoppage time.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gasp
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Verb
Whoopi Goldberg broke news of Robert Redford's death to The View audience in real time, with studio audience members audibly gasping as the Oscar-winning actress informed that the 89-year-old Hollywood icon died earlier Tuesday at his home in Utah.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2025
Voices gasped, exhaled for a beat, then rose up in screams of horror.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
That result followed a late winner at home to Arsenal and, of course, the last-gasp recovery against Bournemouth in the first week of the Premier League.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Salah held his nerve to hammer the last-gasp penalty past Martin Dubravka after Hannibal had handled Jeremie Frimpong’s cross deep into stoppage time.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gasp
Cite this Entry
“Gasp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gasp. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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