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gasp
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
gasp
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a squeal/gasp/cry etc of delight
▪ The child gave a squeal of delight.
fight/gasp for air (=try to breathe with difficulty)
▪ He clutched his throat as he fought for air.
gasp/fight for breath (=have difficulty breathing)
▪ He was lying on the floor gasping for breath.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
out
▪ Once inside the gallery, we walked to the top of a small staircase and gasped out loud.
■ NOUN
air
▪ 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.
breath
▪ The icy stream took her breath away and she gasped as the water poured through her hair and ran down her face.
horror
▪ 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.
pain
▪ 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
hear
▪ 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.
leave
▪ 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 OTHER ENTRIES
strangled cry/gasp/voice etc
▪ 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.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ ""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.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ 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.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
last
▪ 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.
little
▪ 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
come
▪ 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.
give
▪ 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.
hear
▪ 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.
let
▪ 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.
make
▪ 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.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ 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.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ 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.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gasp

Gasp \Gasp\, v. t. To emit or utter with gasps; -- with forth, out, away, etc.

And with short sobs he gasps away his breath.
--Dryden.

Gasp

Gasp \Gasp\, n. The act of opening the mouth convulsively to catch the breath; a labored respiration; a painful catching of the breath.

At the last gasp, at the point of death.
--Addison.

Gasp

Gasp \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 laborious respiration; to labor for breath; to respire convulsively; to pant violently.

    She gasps and struggles hard for life.
    --Lloyd.

  2. To pant with eagerness; to show vehement desire.

    Quenching the gasping furrows' thirst with rain.
    --Spenser.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
gasp

1570s, from gasp (v.).

gasp

late 14c., gaspen, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse geispa "to yawn," or its Danish derivative gispe "gasp," which probably are related to Old Norse gapa (see gape). Related: Gasped; gasping.

Wiktionary
gasp

interj. (context humorous English) (non-gloss definition: The sound of a gasp.) n. 1 A short, sudden intake of breath. 2 (context British slang English): A draw or drag on a cigarette (or gasper). vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock. 2 (context intransitive English) To breathe laboriously or convulsively. 3 (context transitive English) To speak in a breathless manner. 4 To pant with eagerness; to show vehement desire.

WordNet
gasp

n. a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open; "she gave a gasp and fainted" [syn: pant]

gasp

v. breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted; "The runners reached the finish line, panting heavily" [syn: pant, puff, heave]

Wikipedia
Gasp (2009 film)

Gasp is a 2009 Chinese film directed by Zheng Zhong .

Gasp (disambiguation)

Gasp may refer to:

  • Gasp (2009 film) , a Chinese film
  • Gasp (2012 film), a short German drama film
  • G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream, a fighting game for the Nintendo 64
  • " Gasp (Harper's Island)", a 2008–2009 TV-series episode
  • GASP, a human gene
  • Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP), popular acronym of environmentalist groups, e.g. Michelle Madoff
Gasp (2012 film)

Gasp is a German- Taiwanese short film drama written and directed by Eicke Bettinga. The film premiered in the Official Selection at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where it was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or.

Usage examples of "gasp".

Henry helped her up the steps, through the door and into the foyer, and Abigail gasped in admiration.

Smith gasped, his Highland accent breaking through the English veneer, as it always did in stressful situations.

A couched spear of acuminated granite rested by him while at his feet reposed a savage animal of the canine tribe whose stertorous gasps announced that he was sunk in uneasy slumber, a supposition confirmed by hoarse growls and spasmodic movements which his master repressed from time to time by tranquilising blows of a mighty cudgel rudely fashioned out of paleolithic stone.

He kept the aerator as low as possible, to make himself breathe great gasps that hurt his chest, but it made him dizzy, and he had to increase the oxygenation lest he faint.

They gasped at the sight of the afanc, thrashing furiously now in the lake with its great neck bending to and fro.

With a gasping shriek the king ape collapsed, clutching futilely for the agile, naked creature nimbly sidestepping from his grasp.

Floyt helped him up, demanding to know if he was all right although Alacrity was gasping too hard to answer.

A word, a heave in unison, and the albacore lay gasping in the bilges -- a magnificent fish of a hundred pounds or more.

Gasping for breath, Alec doubled over and they knocked him down into the half-frozen mud of the street.

My uncle, as he gasped and tossed in increasing perturbation and with eyes that had now started open, seemed not one man but many men, and suggested a curious quality of alienage from himself.

All of which I submit as evidence that the man I boxed with was a totally different man from the poor, ninety-pound weight of eight years before, who, given up by physicians and alienists, lay gasping his life away in a closed room in Portland, Oregon.

He dipped his tongue into the hollow of her collarbone, and Amelle gasped.

From the statue issued a great gasp of graying smoke, that clouded the apsis in which the throne stood and came gorging into the cella, obscuring the graven images along the walls.

Blacktooth arose with a gasp and tried to genuflect with a leg that had gone to sleep.

The male grinned wide as the female gasped in shock, she attempting to back from the touch, yet finding herself unable to do so.