gasped for air

Meaning

1. 1verbintransitive

   struggled to breathe in quickly and with difficulty, especially because of shock, effort, or lack of air.

   Grammar: No object; the phrase is followed by 'for air' or another thing the person needs: gasp for breath.

   Patterns

   • gasp for air
   • gasp for breath
   • gasp in surprise

   After the race, she gasped for air at the finish line.

   He gasped for air when he surfaced from the cold water.

   The baby gasped for air and then began to cry.

Word forms

Common combinations

gasp for air

The swimmer gasped for air after diving under the boat.

gasp for breath

He ran up the stairs and gasped for breath.

gasp in shock

She gasped in shock when she saw the bill.

gasp with pain

He gasped with pain as the doctor cleaned the wound.

Synonyms and how they differ

pant

Pant means to breathe quickly and heavily, often with short breaths, but it does not always suggest a struggle for air like gasp does.

wheeze

Wheeze means to breathe with a whistling sound, usually because of a chest problem; it is less sudden than gasping for air.

Word family

gasp noun

a sudden, short breath taken in because of surprise or difficulty breathing

gasping adjective

describes someone who is struggling to breathe; also used informally to mean very thirsty

Commonly confused: gasped for air or grasp?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “gasped for air”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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