v.
- catch one's breath with an open mouth, owing to pain or astonishment.
▸
(gasp for)
strain to obtain (air) by gasping.
-
(be gasping for)
Brit. informal be desperate to obtain or consume; crave:
I'm gasping for a drink!
n.
a convulsive catching of breath.
Phrase
- the last gasp
the point of exhaustion, death, or completion.
Etymology
ME: from ON geispa ‘to yawn’.