Link Centre Dictionary

gasp

UK/ɡɑːsp/ US/ɡæsp/ fairly common slang uk
verb (1) noun (1)

verb

1.

breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted

  • “The runners reached the finish line, panting heavily”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open

  • “she gave a gasp and fainted”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English gaspen, gayspen (“to gape, outbreathe”), related to and likely derived from Old Norse geispa (“to yawn”) or its descendant Danish gispe, which may be related to gapa (“to gape”).

Phrases

  • dying gasp
  • last gasp

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.