adv. & a. [ . a- + gasp. ] In a state of gasping. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Gasped p. pr. & vb. n. Gasping. ] [ OE. gaspen, gaispen, to yawn, gasp, Icel. geispa to yawn; akin to Sw. gäspa, Dan. gispe to gasp. ] 1. To open the mouth wide in catching the breath, or in laborious respiration; to labor for breath; to respire convulsively; to pant violently. [ 1913 Webster ]

She gasps and struggles hard for life. Lloyd. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To pant with eagerness; to show vehement desire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Quenching the gasping furrows' thirst with rain. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To emit or utter with gasps; -- with forth, out, away, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

And with short sobs he gasps away his breath. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of opening the mouth convulsively to catch the breath; a labored respiration; a painful catching of the breath. [ 1913 Webster ]

At the last gasp, at the point of death. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The alewife. [ Local, Canada ] [ 1913 Webster ]