as in to stare
to look long and hard in wonder or surprise
tourists in London gawping at royalty
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Recent Examples of gawp
Italian nonne stirred pots full of sauce with a look of utter boredom and, here and there, Neapolitan ragazzi sat atop their motorini and gawped at the torture.
—
Douglas Stuart, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
Day trips to Amalfi-style Taormina are well-advised for those who have yet to gawp at its clifftop panoramas across the Mediterranean or its film star hotels, as are jaunts to the rambling flea markets and splendidly scruffy trattorias of nearby Catania.
—Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
And best of luck finding something else to gawp at on one of the Big Four nets.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Through the Looking Glass The optimal viewing angle for gawping at your spatial creations runs over a 58-degree viewing cone.
—New Atlas, 12 Dec. 2024
For others, gawping at the sheer volume and opulence of Ertegun’s stuff is its own illicit thrill, like rifling through the bedroom drawers of a hostess at a dinner party.
—The Editors, Curbed, 2 Dec. 2024
But earlier iterations of the fashion show were often peppered with inappropriate jokes at the models’ expense, with its in-studio audience being largely made up of gawping men.
—Tara John, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024
Early in the game, you’re given the ability to slow down time, a power-up that doesn’t just lead to inventive platforming across rapidly moving razor-sharp knives but the opportunity to gawp further at the spectacle.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Douglas Stuart, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
Day trips to Amalfi-style Taormina are well-advised for those who have yet to gawp at its clifftop panoramas across the Mediterranean or its film star hotels, as are jaunts to the rambling flea markets and splendidly scruffy trattorias of nearby Catania.
—Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
And best of luck finding something else to gawp at on one of the Big Four nets.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 9 Jan. 2025
Through the Looking Glass The optimal viewing angle for gawping at your spatial creations runs over a 58-degree viewing cone.
—New Atlas, 12 Dec. 2024
For others, gawping at the sheer volume and opulence of Ertegun’s stuff is its own illicit thrill, like rifling through the bedroom drawers of a hostess at a dinner party.
—The Editors, Curbed, 2 Dec. 2024
But earlier iterations of the fashion show were often peppered with inappropriate jokes at the models’ expense, with its in-studio audience being largely made up of gawping men.
—Tara John, CNN, 16 Oct. 2024
Early in the game, you’re given the ability to slow down time, a power-up that doesn’t just lead to inventive platforming across rapidly moving razor-sharp knives but the opportunity to gawp further at the spectacle.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gawp
Verb
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For a few seconds, everyone at Progressive Field — players, umpires, fans, cotton candy vendors — stared at the video board, awaiting the handy diagram that would determine whether the Cleveland Guardians’ lead was in jeopardy.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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The couple sat in a vestibule inside the Aurora immigration detention facility on a Saturday in March, staring at each other through the glass barrier separating the incarcerated from the free.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Locals complained tourist gawked at them or traipsed through their yards.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
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Millions attended these exhibits and then went home to gawk at the vehicles at their local store.—
Jackie Charniga,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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All three writers turned loving, humorous, piercing gazes on a particular place, exploring, through cycles of plays, the rich humanity and the grave historical wounds of its inhabitants.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
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One untitled work from 1994 shows a strange monster—a guard bent over, gazing back at us between his own legs, his upside-down grin framed by his jackboots.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gawp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gawp. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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