Definition of "gasp"

gasp

/ɡɑːsp/

verb
third-person singular simple present gasps, present participle gasping, simple past and past participle gasped
1. (intransitive) To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
2. (intransitive) To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion; to respire with heaving of the breast; to pant.
  Quotations
  She gasps and struggles hard for life.
  c. 1761-1764, Robert Lloyd, An Epistle to C. Churchill, Author of the Rosicad
3. (transitive) To speak in a breathless manner.
4. To pant with eagerness or excitement; to show vehement desire.
  Quotations
  Quenching the gasping furrows' thirst with rain.
  1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Aprill. Aegloga Quarta.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […]; republished as The Shepheardes Calender […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], 1586,
noun
plural gasps
1. A short, sudden intake of breath.
2. (Britain, slang) : A draw or drag on a cigarette (or gasper).
interjection
1. (humorous) The sound of a gasp.