gasp1 verbgasp2 noun
gaspgasp1 /ɡɑːsp $ ɡæsp/ ●○○ verb 
WORD ORIGINgasp1
Origin:
1300-1400 Old Norse geispa ‘to yawn’VERB TABLE
gasp
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | gasp |
| he, she, it | gasps | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | gasped |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have gasped |
| he, she, it | has gasped | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had gasped |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will gasp |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have gasped |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am gasping |
| he, she, it | is gasping | |
| you, we, they | are gasping | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was gasping |
| you, we, they | were gasping | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been gasping |
| he, she, it | has been gasping | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been gasping |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be gasping |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been gasping |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- ""Do you think you can walk?'' I asked. ""I'll try,'' he gasped.
- His mother was coughing and gasping for breath.
- I gasped when I heard how much the ring had cost.
- Most people gasp when they hear how much money Patsy makes.
- One of the boys hit him in the face, and he gasped with pain.
- The crowd gasped as the plane burst into flames.
- The hill was very steep and they were all gasping by the time they got to the top.
- But the poor paunchy guy had been stuffed into a jumpsuit from which he seemed to gasp for air.
- Everyone who sees these photographs gasps.
- He gasped in agony as his knees smashed into a rock.
- Instead, it is surging ahead in the polls leaving the opposition to gasp with envy.
- The boys gasped, wheezed and giggled; the plumper ones complained bitterly.
- The sound of the telephone shrilling by the side of her bed brought her gasping back to wakefulness.
THESAURUS
[intransitive, transitive] to take air into your lungs and send it out again: · Mary knew he was asleep because he was breathing deeply.· He breathed the clear spring air.
to breathe out slowly and make a noise that shows you are disappointed, tired, relieved etc: · She just sighed and shook her head.· ‘Never mind,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities.’
to breathe quickly and noisily through your mouth, because you have been using a lot of effort: · They were panting by the time they got to the finish line.
to breathe very quickly and deeply and with difficulty: · Her eyes were wide, and she was gasping for breath.· ‘Do you think you can walk?’ ‘I’ll try to,’ he gasped.
to breathe noisily while you are sleeping: · I couldn’t sleep because my husband was snoring.
to breathe with difficulty, making a noise in your throat and chest, because you are ill: · His asthma was making him wheeze.
to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you have been running or doing other exercise: · I was out of breath by the time we reached the top of the hill.
to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy: · Because she was so overweight, she was often short of breath.
Longman Language Activatorto breathe noisily to breathe in noisily through your nose, for example because you have a cold or because you are crying: · Stop sniffing! Use your handkerchief.· "I'm sorry I got so upset,'' she sniffed.· The dog raised its nose in the air, sniffed, and then started to follow the scent.
to breathe in and out noisily, because you are disappointed, tired, or sad, or because you can begin to relax after worrying about something: · Frank sighed deeply and stared out of the window.· "That's life, I suppose,'' she sighed.· Sighing wearily, she began her routine of getting ready for bed.
to suddenly breathe in noisily, because you are surprised, shocked, or in pain: · I gasped when I heard how much the ring had cost.· The crowd gasped as the plane burst into flames.gasp with amazement/shock/pain etc: · One of the boys hit him in the face, and he gasped with pain.
to breathe noisily while you are asleep: · My husband snores so loudly that I find it difficult to get to sleep.· If you snore, it's better not to sleep on your back.
to breathe out very noisily through your nose, especially to show that you are amused or annoyed: · My sister snorts when she laughs.· The horse lowered its head, and snorted at them.
to breathe with difficulty unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy: · When I wake up in the morning I'm often very short of breath.· She got short of breath very easily because she was so overweight.· The fog irritated his lungs and made him short of breath.
having difficulty breathing, especially because you have just been running, climbing stairs etc: · She sounded a little breathless, as if she had been running.· We were all a little out of breath when we got on the train.· Can we have a rest? -- I'm a bit out of breath.
to breathe very quickly and deeply because you are having difficulty breathing normally, for example after running fast or because you have been injured: · The hill was very steep and they were all gasping by the time they got to the top.· "Do you think you can walk?" I asked. "I'll try," he gasped.gasp for breath (=because you can hardly breathe): · His mother was coughing and gasping for breath.
to breathe loudly and with difficulty, because you are doing something which needs a lot of physical effort: · You could see her puffing as she carried the heavy washing basket.· "Sorry I'm so late Maxie,'' he said, puffing breathlessly.
to breathe quickly and noisily with your mouth open, for example, because you have just been running: · Matt was still panting after his run.· When I reached the top of the stairs I was puffing and panting like an old steam engine.· A strange brown dog suddenly jumped all over him, panting, its tongue out.
also be bunged up British spoken to have difficulty breathing through your nose because you have a cold : · She doesn't want to go to school. She says her throat is sore and she's stuffed up.be all bunged up: · I couldn't sleep last night because I was all bunged up.
to breathe with a whistling noise in your throat and chest because you are ill or unhealthy: · When she coughed she made a terrible wheezing sound.· His asthma was acting up and he wheezed throughout the show.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
Brendan climbed slowly, gasping for breath.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Brendan climbed slowly, gasping for breath. (=try to breathe with difficulty)· He clutched his throat as he fought for air.
(=have difficulty breathing)· He was lying on the floor gasping for breath.
· The child gave a squeal of delight.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Once inside the gallery, we walked to the top of a small staircase and gasped out loud.
NOUN· But with an hour gone and Ulster 25-24 ahead, Saracens were gasping for air in this Heineken Cup match.· But the poor paunchy guy had been stuffed into a jumpsuit from which he seemed to gasp for air.· Once back outside in the Berlin night, Harry gasped for air.· I gasped air and saw the bright crimson of my skinned knuckles.· The instructor must have heard my screams as I felt myself being dragged out as I gasped for air.· She was gasping for air, then her throat seized closed and she fainted.
· The icy stream took her breath away and she gasped as the water poured through her hair and ran down her face.
· At first Buzz saw nothing, but then she gasped in horror.· I should have gasped and recoiled in horror.· I only had time to gasp in horror, before I saw that Heathcliff had caught him.
· She took a step back and, gasping with pain, stumbled as her ankle gave way beneath her.· A hopelessness swept through her so unexpectedly she gasped as if in pain and grabbed at a tree root to prevent herself falling.· As he received the blow his face writhed and he gasped with pain.· The young man gasped, the pain between his legs searing through him.· The same sensation clawed at his cheek and he gasped, the pain searing, yet unreal.· Brian gasped with the pain, and couldn't breathe.
VERB· Cecilia heard herself gasp and at once put her hand up to her mouth.· I could hear Maria gasping, one word at a time, one sob at a time.· Carrie heard Albert gasp beside her.· Next to him he heard Maisie gasp.· She heard Miranda gasp a little laugh and did not wish to see why.· He heard himself gasp and gurgle, saliva and blood spitting past the merciless wire.· She heard him gasp at the sheer beauty of her superb feminine body.· When she heard my voice she gasped, then collapsed into giggles.
· The opening scene is so shocking it will leave you gasping.· Instead, it is surging ahead in the polls leaving the opposition to gasp with envy.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1[intransitive, transitive] to breathe in suddenly in a way that can be heard, especially because you are surprised or in paingasp in/with- But even when Brown was gasping in the ninth, Leyland stuck with him, and Brown finished the job.
- But suppose you have a cold and are gasping for breath?
- But with an hour gone and Ulster 25-24 ahead, Saracens were gasping for air in this Heineken Cup match.
- I will be gasping for breath 24 hours a day.
- Ken Harvey was gasping for air.
- She was gasping for air, then her throat seized closed and she fainted.
- She was gasping, but she knew she could beat it if she ran.
- The fruit in the 1985 Geyserville was gasping its last when we found it.
- After a few thrusting minutes Edward gave a strangled cry that seemed to come from deep in his throat and jerked out of her.
- But Gary in his slow strangled voice spoke a kind of poetry as he told me about his previous life.
- Gilbert uttered a strangled cry and leapt to his feet with shadow reflections of crawling rain on his spectrally white face.
- He thought he made some kind of strangled gasp; he knew his eyes would have expressed his emotions.
- Lorrimer gave a strangled cry and lunged out.
- Then a sixth man appeared at the door, a small strangled cry came from Miranda.
Ollie gasped with pain and slumped forward.gasp at The audience gasped at the splendour of the costumes. ‘My leg!’ he gasped. ‘I think it’s broken!’► see thesaurus at breathe2[intransitive] to breathe quickly in a way that can be heard because you are having difficulty breathinggasp for air/breath Brendan climbed slowly, gasping for breath.3be gasping (for something) British English spoken to feel that you urgently need something such as a drink or cigarette: I’m gasping for a pint!gasp1 verbgasp2 noun
gaspgasp2 ●○○ noun [countable] EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Between gasps Michael said that he was allergic to cats.
- The announcement that he was guilty brought gasps and sobs in the packed courtroom.
- There were gasps of astonishment from the audience.
- Bette concluded with a gasp and sank her teeth into her sandwich.
- But it also was the last gasp for a team on the slide.
- I was breathing in short little gasps.
- Kneeling across him, she joined her body to his with a little gasp until he sat and touched his mouth to hers.
- Now we solaced our brow on the porcelain, and emitted a few sour gasps of disgust.
- Then there's nothing but the implacable, soul-less beat, and a subdued babble of shudders and metallic gasps.
- There was a gasp at this disclosure.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY She gave a little gasp and clutched George’s hand.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
She gave a little gasp and clutched George’s hand. (=try to breathe with difficulty)· He clutched his throat as he fought for air.
(=have difficulty breathing)· He was lying on the floor gasping for breath.
· The child gave a squeal of delight.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· The Celtic star laid on two killer last-gasp Ipswich goals in two minutes.· Whether it is a rebirth or a last gasp remains to be seen.· This weekend, though, there was no need for a controversial last-gasp try.
· She gave a little gasp, and he released it.· I was breathing in short little gasps.· Somehow she managed to take a proper breath, not the little shallow gasps she had been giving up to now.· With every move she gave a little gasp, as her body, previous experience or not, proved an apt pupil.· The watching group gave out a little gasp.
VERB· His breath was coming in short irregular gasps.· All I had to do was wait until my breath no longer came in short gasps and my body quit trembling.· Her eyes had grown wide, her skin pale; her breath came in great gasps.
· Almost disinterestedly, she turned the paper over, and gave a gasp of shock, her heart missing a beat.· Sarella jerked her head round, then gave a small gasp.· Next second she gave a gasp, and beckoned Shirley to hurry.· She gave a little gasp, and he released it.· She gave a little gasp of delight.· Jehana gave a gasp of exasperation, and she stood up.· The excitement and food simply welled up inside him and he gave a short gasp and vomited all over the carpet.
· Across from me, the door opened and I heard some one gasp.· He rolled back the leather covering and heard Selkirk's gasp of surprise.
· I let out an involuntary gasp.· At first, reading this passage I let out a gasp: I had never seen maternal ambivalence described on the page.
· Something struck her smartly in the middle of her shoulders and made her gasp.· Donald and Jean had disappeared and Mary was in a black mood, striding along and making old Donald gasp.· It made her gasp and draw in breath.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1when you take in a breath suddenly in a way that can be heard, especially because you are surprised or in paingasp of- This cold spell appears to be winter's last gasp for the year.
- But it also was the last gasp for a team on the slide.
- Large-scale, publicly-owned enterprises will breathe their last gasp and wither away well before the state which spawned them.
- Sometimes even negative change is interpreted as merely the last gasp of the resistant old order.
- That is the way to add people on their last gasp to the repossessed list, not reduce it.
- This is the last gasp of the Romantic revolution that Beethoven instigated.
- Whether it is a rebirth or a last gasp remains to be seen.
- After a few thrusting minutes Edward gave a strangled cry that seemed to come from deep in his throat and jerked out of her.
- But Gary in his slow strangled voice spoke a kind of poetry as he told me about his previous life.
- Gilbert uttered a strangled cry and leapt to his feet with shadow reflections of crawling rain on his spectrally white face.
- He thought he made some kind of strangled gasp; he knew his eyes would have expressed his emotions.
- Lorrimer gave a strangled cry and lunged out.
- Then a sixth man appeared at the door, a small strangled cry came from Miranda.
With a gasp of pure horror, Lewis jumped up and ran. She gave a little gasp and clutched George’s hand.2when you breathe in air quickly because you are having difficulty breathing: Her breath came in shallow gasps.3somebody’s/something’s last gasp the time when someone is about to die, or when something is about to stop happening or existing: the last gasp of an industry in decline