Gasp

How to spell gasp

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce gasp

What does gasp mean?

1. verbTo draw in breath sharply and audibly, usually from shock, pain, or breathlessness.
2. nounA sudden, sharp intake of breath made in surprise, shock, or exhaustion.

Gasp in a sentence

• verb

  The steep final climb made the runners gasp for air.

• noun

  A collective gasp went round the room as the verdict was read.

• verb

  The audience began to gasp when the magician vanished.

• noun

  She gave a sharp gasp when the cold water hit her.

Where does gasp come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

Gasp comes into English from Old Norse, where the verb geispa meant 'to yawn' or 'to open the mouth wide for air'. Norse settlers brought the word to northern England, and by the late 1300s it had taken on its modern English sense of catching the breath suddenly, especially in shock, pain, or exhaustion. The shift from yawning to a sharp intake of breath is easy to picture, since both involve the mouth opening wide for air. The spelling stayed short and phonetic, with the consonant cluster 'sp' falling exactly where the ear expects it, which is why the word is rarely misspelled. Its plain four letters reflect its plain Germanic and Norse roots rather than any later Latin or French borrowing.

How the word is built

• gasp (single root, from Old Norse geispa: to yawn); no affixes