wheeze
Americanverb (used without object)
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to breathe with difficulty and with a whistling sound.
Asthma caused him to wheeze.
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to make a sound resembling difficult breathing.
The old locomotive wheezed into the station.
noun
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a wheezing breath or sound.
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an old and frequently used joke, saying, story, etc.
verb
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to breathe or utter (something) with a rasping or whistling sound
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(intr) to make or move with a noise suggestive of wheezy breathing
noun
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a husky, rasping, or whistling sound or breathing
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slang a trick, idea, or plan (esp in the phrase good wheeze )
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informal a hackneyed joke or anecdote
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wheeze
1425–75; late Middle English whese (v.), probably < Old Norse hvæsa to hiss
Explanation
To breathe in a gasping, strained way is to wheeze. You might not know you're allergic to cats until you walk into the house your friend shares with six felines and start to wheeze. A particular raspy, whistling kind of breathing characterizes a wheeze. You might wheeze because you've got a bad cold, or because your asthma is acting up after that half marathon you just ran. It can be scary to wheeze sometimes, because it feels like you're not getting quite as much air as you need with each breath. Wheeze shares a Scandinavian root with the Old Norse hvoesa, "to hiss."
Vocabulary lists containing wheeze
James and the Giant Peach
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Unit 1, Words to Know
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List 9
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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.
The tracklist is unavailable at the time of writing, but should include the much-loved Walking With Mr Wheeze and the delightfully silly self-parody Riding On My Bike.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2021
Their lungs Wheeze and labor, and would rest; they need A cold compress, a caressing breeze, some Respite from the rattling drone of dried peas In the inner ear.
From New York Times • Jul. 29, 2014
“Well, if it isn’t Wheeze and Cough,” he said, smiling widely and touching the bill of his cap.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
“Call Call! Did you get that, Wheeze? It’s a joke.”
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
“Call me no longer Wheeze, but Sara Louise,” I said grandly, smiling in the darkness, casting off the nickname she had diminished me with since we were two.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
