hiccup
or hic-cough
a quick, involuntary inhalation that follows a spasm of the diaphragm and is suddenly checked by closure of the glottis, producing a short, relatively sharp sound.
Usually hiccups. the condition of having such spasms: She got the hiccups just as she began to speak.
Informal. a minor difficulty, interruption, setback, etc.: a hiccup in the stock market.
to make the sound of a hiccup: The motor hiccuped as it started.
to have the hiccups.
Informal. to experience a temporary decline, setback, interruption, etc.: There was general alarm when the economy hiccuped.
Origin of hiccup
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hiccup in a sentence
Involuntarily Howell gave a little hiccough of emotion, which answered Dafydd sufficiently.
Mushroom Town | Oliver OnionsAt this moment a hiccough was heard, and a rather fast and rakish-looking chap, named Stagger, spoke up.
The Aeroplane Speaks | H. Barber"Heaven save us from meeting any more such driftwood," said the pilot unsteadily with a hiccough.
The Incendiary | W. A. (William Augustine) LeahyShe told Esprit (one of the doctors) that it was the death-hiccough.
Court Beauties of Old Whitehall | W. R. H. TrowbridgeHis face was white and drawn, and every now and then he shook with a hiccough.
A Modern Aladdin | Howard Pyle
British Dictionary definitions for hiccup
hiccough
/ (ˈhɪkʌp) /
a spasm of the diaphragm producing a sudden breathing in followed by a closing of the glottis, resulting in a sharp sound: Technical name: singultus
the state or condition of having such spasms
informal a minor difficulty or problem
(intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups
(tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups
Origin of hiccup
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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