gulp
Americanverb (used without object)
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gulps,
present (3rd person singular)
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gulped,
past participle, past
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gulping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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gulps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gulped,
past participle, past
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gulping
present participle
noun
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gulps
plural
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the act of gulping.
He drank the whole bottle of beer in one gulp.
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the amount swallowed at one time; mouthful.
verb
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to swallow rapidly, esp in large mouthfuls
to gulp down food
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to stifle or choke
to gulp back sobs
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(intr) to swallow air convulsively, as while drinking, because of nervousness, surprise, etc
-
(intr) to make a noise, as when swallowing too quickly
noun
-
the act of gulping
-
the quantity taken in a gulp
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gulpsimple
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gulpssimple
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have gulpedperfect
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has gulpedperfect
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am gulpingprogressive
-
are gulpingprogressive
-
is gulpingprogressive
-
have been gulpingperfect progressive
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has been gulpingperfect progressive
Past
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gulpedsimple
-
had gulpedperfect
-
was gulpingprogressive
-
were gulpingprogressive
-
had been gulpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gulp
1400–50; late Middle English gulpen (v.); compare Dutch gulpen, Norwegian glupa
Explanation
To gulp is to loudly and quickly swallow food, drink, or air. You might gulp nervously before you stand up to make a speech. When you gulp down your breakfast so you can run and catch your bus, or gulp air upon rising to the surface of a swimming pool, you can say you take a gulp — or many gulps. The word dates from the 1300s, but its origin is somewhat uncertain. Most experts link it to the imitative Dutch gulpen, "to gush, guzzle, or swallow."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A.I. writing is now in my water supply, whether I can identify each new gulp or not.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
It had somehow learned to peel off the bottles’ lids and gulp the cream down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Again, it's not just the losses that might be making some Celtic fans gulp.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Runcie, a former arts columnist for the Daily Telegraph, has created something so delightfully snackable that you may, as I did, gulp it down in two or three sittings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025
Maya-Jade paused to gulp some air before she carried on.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Again, don't hold your breath – the company has been losing money hand over fist, the blast furnaces are nearing the end of their useful life, and the cost of energy it gulps is enormous.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2025
That meant trekking through the jungle, up mountains, and across rivers, surviving on rationed meatballs and gulps of water.
From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
“When this floodplain floods up, there’s kind of like big gulps that happen,” Rentner said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
That’s the good news about the book — it’s well-crafted and often quite funny in a cringey way, easy to down in big gulps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
Angel, almost hysterical, was sucking in huge gulps of the smoke-filled air.
From "Forged by Fire" by Sharon M. Draper
Trout, their speckled flanks gleaming in the sun, gulped them down one by one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
“The money question remains as to how many barrels vacated by India will be gulped up by the Chinese teapots,” Raj said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2025
And when a Labrador retriever owned by another company officer gulped down a bagel impaled with a toothpick, he said, most of the resulting $10,5000 surgical bill was covered as well.
From New York Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
But his grandmother Elvire Desir chuckled as he hungrily gulped down his meal.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2024
They ran backward as the dragon gulped air and breathed a great gout of flame.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Nearby, crowds huddled in thin strips of shade outside pavilions, gulping free bottles of water that workers were distributing throughout the event.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Yes, gulping the liquid the night before was an ordeal — try drinking three liters of anything in three hours, going to sleep, then waking up six hours later for one final liter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
And the Gatorade you see players gulping on the sideline during games isn’t like the stuff you grab at 7-Eleven.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2024
The sensation is extremely unnatural and unpleasant, but I prefer sleeping with that discomfort over being so tired that I have to squeeze naps into my day like a dehydrated man gulping water.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2023
“God ...” I said, gulping down my misery, “has willed it otherwise.”
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
