gulp

[ guhlp ]

verb (used without object)

1. to gasp or choke, as when taking large drafts of a liquid.

verb (used with object)

1. to swallow eagerly, or in large drafts or morsels (often followed by down ):

   He gulps down his food like a starving man.

   Synonyms: guzzle, devour, bolt, quaff, gobble, wolf

2. to suppress, subdue, or choke back as if by swallowing:

   to gulp down a sob.

noun

1. the act of gulping:

   He drank the whole bottle of beer in one gulp.

2. the amount swallowed at one time; mouthful.

gulp

/ ɡʌlp /

verb

1. troften foll bydown to swallow rapidly, esp in large mouthfuls

   to gulp down food

2. troften foll byback to stifle or choke

   to gulp back sobs

3. intr to swallow air convulsively, as while drinking, because of nervousness, surprise, etc
4. intr to make a noise, as when swallowing too quickly

noun

1. the act of gulping
2. the quantity taken in a gulp

Derived Forms

• ˈgulpingly, adverb
• ˈgulpy, adjective
• ˈgulper, noun

Other Words From

• gulper noun
• gulping·ly adverb
• gulpy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulp¹

1400–50; late Middle English gulpen (v.); compare Dutch gulpen, Norwegian glupa

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulp¹

C15: from Middle Dutch gulpen, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Drones also snapped photos of 105 whales to help the researchers estimate gulp size.

From Science News For Students

They used drones and sonar to measure the whale’s mouths, and the size of krill swarms, which gave an estimate of how much a whale could scoop up in a gulp.

From Popular-Science

Some scientists thought that krill — the tiny crustaceans that many whales eat in gargantuan gulps — would explode in number as a result, mostly free from the feeding pressure of the largest animals that have ever lived.

From Science News

Aerial drones snapped photos of 105 whales, which the researchers used to estimate gulp size.

From Science News

Baikal seals may be using these teeth to efficiently sieve their plankton prize from the lake, expelling excess water with every gulp, the researchers say.

From Science News

Even so distant, I can taste the grief, / Bitter and sharp with stalks, he made you gulp…Where bridal London bows the other way.

From The Daily Beast

But even allowing for the fact that the state elected Mama Big Gulp as its governor, the Alaska number has to be a solid majority.

From The Daily Beast

The sugar in a $1.39 Big Gulp soda at 7-Eleven accounts for only a few cents of its cost.

From The Daily Beast

While delivering her speech at CPAC, Sarah Palin drank from a big gulp.

From The Daily Beast

There was even a speech from Sarah Palin who made a joke about her "rack" and sipped a big gulp on stage.

From The Daily Beast

He devoured it whole with a kind of visual gulp—a flash; the entire meaning first, then lines, then separate words.

From Project Gutenberg

"Five minutes to twelve, baby," said the old man, and his voice had a gulp in it that broke June down.

From Project Gutenberg

He made the speech with a gulp, as though it were distasteful to him.

From Project Gutenberg

He got the question out with a separate gulp for each separate word.

From Project Gutenberg

"They are all round us in the scrub; you never know where they are," Eustace said with a gulp.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• draught
• mouthful