gasp
verb · noun · adjective
Simple meaning
To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gaspIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡæsp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
intransitive
To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion; to respire with heaving of the breast; to pant.
transitive
To speak in a breathless manner.
To pant with eagerness or excitement; to show vehement desire.
noun
A short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
“She gave a gasp and fainted.”
A short, sudden intake of breath.
adjective
Of or pertaining to globalism.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
Used this way, gasp is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Sudden and forceful
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use gasp
- “She gave a gasp and fainted.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The point of death or exhaustion or completion.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.