gasp

Universal Words verb, noun verb 1 ~ (at sth) to take a quick deep breath with your mouth open, especially because you are surprised or in pain: [V] She gasped at the wonderful view. * They gasped in astonishment at the news. * [Vspeech] 'What was that noise?' he gasped. 2 ~ (sth) (out) to have difficulty breathing or speaking: [V] He came to the surface of the water gasping for air. * [VN] She managed to gasp out her name. [also Vspeech] 3 be gasping (for sth) [V] (BrE, spoken) to want or need sth very badly, especially a drink or a cigarette noun a quick deep breath, usually caused by a strong emotion: to give a gasp of horror / surprise / relief * His breath came in short gasps. IDIOMS see LASTdet.