Which to use
“gasped” and “grasped” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,186
- “gasped” frequency rank
- #28,224
- “grasped” frequency rank
- 59410
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gasped | grasped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of gasp | simple past and past participle of grasp |
Where the eye mixes gasped and grasped
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gasped runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against grasped's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gasped with grasped
A purely visual mix-up. gasped (/ɡæspt/) and grasped (/ɡɹæspt/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gasped is recorded at frequency rank #31,186, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡæspt/. grasped is at rank #28,224, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡɹæspt/.
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 59410, this pair ranks #106,360 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gasped vs grasped
Shared letters: adegps. Private to "gasped": -. Private to "grasped": r.
"gasped" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "grasped" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gasped" for "grasped" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gasped" or "grasped"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gasped" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grasped" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #106,360 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gasped" and "grasped" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grasped vs grasse". 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 #106,360 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.