whooping cough

American  

[hoo-ping, hoop-ing] / ˈhu pɪŋ, ˈhʊp ɪŋ /

noun

Pathology.

1. an infectious disease of the respiratory mucous membrane, caused by Bordetella pertussis, characterized by a series of short, convulsive coughs followed by a deep inspiration accompanied by a whooping sound.

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whooping cough British  

/ ˈhuːpɪŋ /

noun

1. Technical name: pertussis.  an acute infectious disease characterized by coughing spasms that end with a shrill crowing sound on inspiration: caused by infection with the bacillus Bordetella pertussis

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whooping cough Scientific  

/ ho̅o̅′pĭng,hp′ĭng,wo̅o̅′pĭng,wp′ĭng /

1. An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordatella pertussis, seen most commonly in children and characterized by coughing spasms often ending in loud gasps. Vaccinations usually given during infancy confer immunity to the disease.

2. Also called pertussis

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whooping cough Cultural  

1. An acute and infectious disease occurring mainly in children and characterized by violent coughing. Caused by a kind of bacteria, whooping cough has largely been eradicated in the United States through a program of vaccination, which is begun when infants are just three months old.

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Etymology

Origin of whooping cough

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

Although it is not a vaccine, the vitamin K shot has been swept up in the same post-pandemic tide that has led to a drop in key childhood vaccines, including for measles and whooping cough.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

The flu and whooping cough vaccines are also recommended during pregnancy.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

In the 1780s Thomas Jefferson was serving as a diplomat in France when the Marquis de Lafayette brought him a message of unwelcome news from Virginia: His young daughter Lucy had died of whooping cough.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Unlike most vaccine-preventable diseases, such as whooping cough and chickenpox, hepatitis B is typically asymptomatic, often spreading silently until midlife, when 1 in 4 infected people develop liver cancer or cirrhosis.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

The principal recorded killers were smallpox, influenza, measles, typhoid, typhus, chicken pox, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and syphilis.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond