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# gasp

«gasp» in Mova's school dictionary: **to breathe in suddenly and loudly with your mouth open…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (gasp, gasps, gasped, gasping); noun (a gasp, gasps)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To gasp means to breathe in suddenly and loudly with your mouth open, because you are surprised, shocked or in pain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#m1)

2) To gasp for air or for breath means to struggle to breathe, for example after running or under water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#m2)

3) A gasp is a sudden short breath like that. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#m3)

4) The last gasp means the very end, almost too late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In stories, a gasp shows surprise or shock: «Everyone gasped». In health and safety, gasping for breath can mean someone cannot breathe well; after exercise it is normal, but if someone is choking, in water or having an asthma attack, get help at once. Phrases: «gasp in surprise», «gasp for air», «gasp of horror», «a last-gasp goal» (in the final moments).

### examples

- The audience gasped when the magician vanished. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x1)
- I gasped when I saw the big spider. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x2)
- He came up from the water gasping for air. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x3)
- After the race we were all gasping. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x4)
- There was a gasp of surprise from the class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x5)
- She gasped in pain when she twisted her ankle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x6)
- They scored a last-gasp goal to win. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x7)
- «Oh no!» she gasped. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x8)
- “John is not here now,” she gasped. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/#x9)

### note

Past: «gasped» (said like «gaspt»). A gasp is breathing in; a sigh is usually breathing out. If someone keeps gasping and cannot speak, it may be an emergency.

### In the corpora

- [Ollie gasps, "What's broken?" Dad smiles: "Nothing's broken, bud.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/52-elections-crime-the-weather-breaking-news-and-news-vs-opinion/6/)
- [A gasp, a scream or a dropped cup are clues that something surprising has happened.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/19-prediction-what-happens-next/20/)
- [Behind him, the gate creaked open" makes the whole class gasp, because we want to know what is behind the gate.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/40-openings-that-hook-the-reader/2/)
- [Sudden cold water makes you gasp and breathe fast, which makes swimming hard.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/45-pools-lakes-and-ice/19/)
- [Falling into icy water makes you gasp and quickly takes away your strength.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/45-pools-lakes-and-ice/21/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «gasp» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gasp/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.