cough

American  

[kawf, kof] / kɔf, kɒf /

verb (used without object)

coughs, present (3rd person singular) coughed, past participle, past coughing present participle

1. to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a harsh noise, often involuntarily.

2. (of an internal-combustion engine) to make a similar noise as a result of the failure of one or more cylinders to fire in sequence.

3. to make a similar sound, as a machine gun firing in spurts.

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verb (used with object)

coughs, present (3rd person singular) coughed, past participle, past coughing present participle

1. to expel by coughing (usually followed by up orout ).

   to cough up phlegm.

noun

1. the act or sound of coughing.

2. an illness characterized by frequent coughing.

3. a sound similar to a cough, a machine gun, or an engine firing improperly.

verb phrase

1. cough up

   1. to relinquish, especially reluctantly; contribute; give.

   2. to blurt out; state, as by way of making a confession.

      After several hours of vigorous questioning by the police, he finally coughed up the information.

cough British  

/ kɒf /

verb

1. (intr) to expel air or solid matter from the lungs abruptly and explosively through the partially closed vocal chords

2. (intr) to make a sound similar to this

3. (tr) to utter or express with a cough or coughs

4. slang (intr) to confess to a crime

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noun

1. an act, instance, or sound of coughing

2. a condition of the lungs or throat that causes frequent coughing

cough Scientific  

/ kôf,kŏf /

1. The act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cougher
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has coughed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have coughed
  perfect
• are coughing
  progressive
• have been coughing
  perfect progressive
• has been coughing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• coughs
  singular 3rd person
• am coughing
  progressive 1st person singular
• coughing
  participle
• is coughing
  progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had coughed
  perfect
• had been coughing
  perfect progressive
• were coughing
  progressive plural
• coughed
  simple
• was coughing
  progressive singular
• coughed
  participle

Future

• will cough
  simple
• will have coughed
  perfect
• will have been coughing
  perfect progressive
• will be coughing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of cough

1275–1325; Middle English coghen, apparently < Old English *cohhian (compare its derivative cohhettan to cough); akin to Dutch kuchen to cough, German keuchen to wheeze

Explanation

A cough is a reflex in which your throat or lungs are cleared by a sudden, sharp burst of air escaping. A bad cough can make it very hard to sleep at night. A cough is evidence that someone's sick, and it's a verb as well: "She began to cough and couldn't stop until someone brought her a bottle of water." You can also describe a cough-like sound that an engine makes when it's not working properly as a cough. The Old English source of cough is coughen, from a Germanic root — every version of the word is imitative, the word itself sounding like a cough.

Related Words

• bark
• choke
• hack
• vomit
• whoop