gasp
/ɡɑːsp/
"gasp" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gasp” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,030. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #16,030
- frequency rank, English
- 2,313
- “G” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gasp · gasp · English
gasp · rank #16,030 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #16,030
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,313
- PHOTO-FINISH gadget
Nearest frequency peer: gadget (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “gasp”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- finalist
finalist
83,975 corpus weight
- gadget
gadget
83,972 corpus weight
- gasp
gasp
83,971 corpus weight
- genital
genital
83,970 corpus weight
- glitch
glitch
83,969 corpus weight
- gong
gong
83,968 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “gasp” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gasp |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɡɑːsp/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,030 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gasp” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around gasp (IPA /ɡɑːsp/), averb. Corpus frequency is #16,030 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for gasp, with forms such as "agsp", "gaspp", and "gassp". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GP", "GS", "Gay", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gaspen, gayspen (“to gape, outbreathe”), related to and likely derived from Old Norse geispa (“to yawn”) or its descendant Danish gispe, which may be related to gapa (“to gape”). The correct English form is gasp, spelled G-A-S-P.
Definition
- 1To draw in the breath suddenly, as if from a shock.
- 2To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion; to respire with heaving of the breast; to pant.
- 3To speak in a breathless manner.
- 4To pant with eagerness or excitement; to show vehement desire.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gasp appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The audience gasped as the magician disappeared.
We were all gasping when we reached the summit.
Etymology
From Middle English gaspen, gayspen (“to gape, outbreathe”), related to and likely derived from Old Norse geispa (“to yawn”) or its descendant Danish gispe, which may be related to gapa (“to gape”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- agsp
- gaspp
- gassp
- ggasp
- gsap
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gasp - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "gasp"?
What does "gasp" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "gasp"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gasp", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.