sneeze
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sneezes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sneezed,
past participle, past
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sneezing
present participle
noun
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sneezes
plural
verb phrase
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sneezesimple
-
sneezessimple
-
have sneezedperfect
-
has sneezedperfect
-
am sneezingprogressive
-
are sneezingprogressive
-
is sneezingprogressive
-
have been sneezingperfect progressive
-
has been sneezingperfect progressive
Past
-
sneezedsimple
-
had sneezedperfect
-
was sneezingprogressive
-
were sneezingprogressive
-
had been sneezingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sneeze
1485–95; earlier snese; replacing Middle English fnese, Old English fnēosan; cognate with Dutch fniezen, Old Norse fnȳsa
Explanation
When you sneeze, you blow air forcefully (and involuntarily) out of your nose and mouth, possibly while making a sound that might be spelled "achoo!" Allergies, pepper, and dust are all famous for making people sneeze. Behind every sneeze is some kind of irritant, a foreign substance that bothers the mucous membranes inside your nose. Pollen, cat dander, and the inflammation of your nose caused by a cold virus can all cause a sneeze (or several sneezes). When you sneeze, muscles in your face, neck, and chest contract reflexively. In rare cases, very bright lights or eating a large meal can make people sneeze. Go figure!
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:
That is nothing to sneeze at—though it is dwarfed by the $13 trillion that was indexed to the S&P 500.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
The Grand Prix winner of last year’s Cannes Critics Week, filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s snaky, surprising fable starts with a sneeze and explodes into a saga about bureaucracy, modernization and moral corruption.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
Interest surged in 2020 when the star unexpectedly dimmed after what was described as a stellar "sneeze."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2026
"If Manchester United sneeze, football catches a cold," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
She’s got a handkerchief in that purse should someone sneeze, a mint to keep a child happy, a rosary in case anyone wants to pray.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
The measles spreads easily through the air when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
And if tech sneezes, global financial markets—starting with the U.S.—will catch a cold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
RSV can spread through coughs or sneezes but also by touching a contaminated surface, such as a door handle, and then touching your face before washing your hands, health officials warn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
“When a major cloud provider sneezes, the internet catches a cold,” he told the Journal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
Maybe after all she was right; maybe Joe Mondragon had been thinking about him, causing those sneezes.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
When I competed in Poland someone sneezed in my face at the airport.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
I felt a stab of pain whenever I coughed or sneezed.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2026
Though initially, this created a buzz that Betelgeuse might go supernova any minute, scientists soon found out that the dimming was actually due to a large fluff of dust that the monster sneezed out.
From Space Scoop ● Aug. 20, 2025
In early 2020, the world scrubbed down surfaces, washed hands and sneezed into elbows, desperate to avoid infection with a new coronavirus.
From New York Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
Instead, he reached into his pocket and then held his napkin up to his face and sneezed into it, once, twice, three times.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
The virus can spread through coughing and sneezing — hanging in the air and living on surfaces for hours after an infected person has left a room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
It can spread through coughing and sneezing, and remain infectious in the air up to two hours after an infected person has left a room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
"We're not talking about flu or Covid, where the virus designs itself to be spread through coughing and sneezing," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
Before he ran out of road, he pulled within sneezing distance of the car in front of him and used the draft to slingshot around into second.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Meanwhile it would keep raining, and the water did trickle so, and now that brachet was sneezing.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
