Meaning & use
gasp out loud
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Meaning
phraseintransitive
To breathe in suddenly and noisily in a way that other people can hear, usually from shock, surprise, or fear.
Grammar: No object is needed; the phrase already contains the idea of making a sound. You can say 'She gasped out loud' but not 'She gasped out loud a cry'.
Patterns
- gasp out loud at something
- gasp out loud in surprise
- gasp out loud when ...
When the magician pulled a live dove from his hat, the whole audience gasped out loud.
She gasped out loud at the price of the concert tickets.
He tried to stay calm, but he gasped out loud when he saw the spider on his pillow.
Word forms
| third person singular | gasps out loud |
|---|---|
| past tense | gasped out loud |
| past participle | gasped out loud |
| -ing form | gasping out loud |
Common combinations
- gasp out loud in surprise
- He gasped out loud in surprise when his name was called.
- gasp out loud at the sight of something
- The children gasped out loud at the sight of the huge dinosaur skeleton.
- make someone gasp out loud
- The ending of the film made everyone gasp out loud.
- almost gasp out loud
- I almost gasped out loud when I read the email.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: gasp out loud or gasp for air?
gasp out loud vs gasp for air
This means struggling to breathe, often because you are drowning or exhausted. 'Gasp out loud' is about a reaction to surprise, not a struggle to breathe.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'gasp out loud' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Gasp out loud' is intransitive and describes a reaction, so it fits with 'when she saw the surprise party.' Option An is wrong because the phrase does not take a direct object like 'a strange noise.' Options C and D use 'to' and 'for' in ways that do not match the meaning of a sudden, surprised breath.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gasp out loud”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.