gasp

gasp
1 verb (I, T)
1 to breathe in suddenly, quickly, and in a way that can be heard, especially because you are surprised or afraid: “My leg! My leg!” he gasped. “I think it's broken!”
(+ with): Ollie gasped with pain and slumped forward. (+ at): The audience gasped at the splendour of the costumes.
2 (I) to breathe quickly and deeply because you are having difficulty breathing: gasp for air/breath: Brendan climbed slowly, gasping for breath.
3 be gasping BrE spoken to be very thirsty: Put the kettle on, love, I'm gasping.
4 be gasping for BrE spoken to feel that you urgently need something such as a drink or cigarette: I'm gasping for a pint!
2 noun (C)
1 an act of taking in your breath suddenly in a way that can be heard, especially because you are surprised or afraid
(+ of): With a gasp of pure horror, Stormgren jumped up and ran. | give a gasp: She gave a little gasp and clutched George's hand.
2 an act of taking in air quickly because you are having difficulty breathing: Between gasps Michael said that he was allergic to cats.
3 at your last gasp about to die: He rolled his eyes as though at his last gasp.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gasp — (g[.a]sp), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Gasped} (g[.a]spt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Gasping}.] [OE. gaspen, gaispen, to yawn, gasp, Icel. geispa to yawn; akin to Sw. g[ a]spa, Dan. gispe to gasp.] 1. To open the mouth wide in catching the breath, or in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gasp — gasp·er; gasp·i·ness; gasp·ing·ly; gasp; …   English syllables

  • gasp — ► VERB 1) catch one s breath with an open mouth, from pain, breathlessness, or astonishment. 2) (gasp for) strain to obtain (air) by gasping. 3) (be gasping for) informal be desperate to have. ► NOUN ▪ a convulsive catching of breath …   English terms dictionary

  • Gasp — Gasp, n. The act of opening the mouth convulsively to catch the breath; a labored respiration; a painful catching of the breath. [1913 Webster] {At the last gasp}, at the point of death. Addison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gasp — [gasp] vi. [ME gaspen < ON geispa, to yawn, prob. by metathesis of * geipsa < geipa, to gossip: for IE base see GAPE] to inhale suddenly, as in surprise, or breathe with effort, as in choking vt. to say or tell with gasps n. a gasping;… …   English World dictionary

  • gasp|y — «GAS pee, GAHS », adjective, gasp|i|er, gasp|i|est. out of breath; gasping …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gasp — Gasp, v. t. To emit or utter with gasps; with forth, out, away, etc. [1913 Webster] And with short sobs he gasps away his breath. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gasp — inter. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} spec. nel linguaggio dei fumetti, esprime sorpresa o sbigottimento; anche s.m.inv {{line}} {{/line}} DATA: sec. XX. ETIMO: da (to) gasp ansimare , di orig. onom …   Dizionario italiano

  • gasp — [n] sharply drawn breath blow, ejaculation, exclamation, gulp, heave, pant, puff, wheeze, whoop; concepts 163,595 gasp [v] draw breath in sharply blow, catch one’s breath, choke, convulse, fight for breath, gulp, heave, inhale, inspire, pant,… …   New thesaurus

  • gasp — ● gasp nom masculin Mouvement respiratoire inefficace d origine réflexe, phénomène terminal de l agonie …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • GASP — GASP,   Abkürzung für die Gemeinsame Außen und Sicherheitspolitik der Europäischen Union …   Universal-Lexikon

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