Which to use
“gasp” and “gasped” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,030
- “gasp” frequency rank
- #31,186
- “gasped” frequency rank
- 47216
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gasp | gasped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock. | simple past and past participle of gasp |
Where the eye mixes gasp and gasped
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gasp runs 4 letters (CVCC) against gasped's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gasp vs gasped
A purely visual mix-up. gasp (/ɡɑːsp/) and gasped (/ɡæspt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “gasp” sits inside “gasped”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gasp is recorded at frequency rank #16,030, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɑːsp/. gasped is at rank #31,186, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡæspt/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 47216, this pair ranks #204,483 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gasp vs gasped
Shared letters: agps. Private to "gasp": -. Private to "gasped": de.
"gasp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "gasped" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gasp" for "gasped" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gasp" vs "gasped" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gasp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gasped" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #204,483 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gasp" and "gasped" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gasped vs gazed". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #204,483 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.