cough
to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a harsh noise, often involuntarily.
(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.
to make a similar sound, as a machine gun firing in spurts.
to expel by coughing (usually followed by up or out): to cough up phlegm.
the act or sound of coughing.
an illness characterized by frequent coughing.
a sound similar to a cough, a machine gun, or an engine firing improperly.
cough up, Slang.
to relinquish, especially reluctantly; contribute; give.
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.
Origin of cough
1Other words from cough
- cougher, noun
Words that may be confused with cough
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cough in a sentence
Will had mistakenly connected the pathway of infection in a hospital room with someone coughing or sneezing circulating in public.
Coughing and sneezing are not symptoms in the way that they are with the flu.
Many were heard coughing and seen rubbing watery, stinging red eyes.
Street Battle Against Cops Again in Ferguson Despite Midnight Curfew | Justin Glawe | August 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSoderbergh, for his part, has agreed to spend a couple of hours coughing up answers.
The Director Isn’t Done Yet: An Interview With Steven Soderbergh | Andrew Romano | August 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey are places where people sit cheek to jowl, maybe sneezing, maybe coughing, maybe puking.
D.C. Moron Phil Gingrey Spread Ebola Fever Over Immigrants | Kent Sepkowitz | July 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
His repeated coughing seemed a constant warning that at any moment he might be vanquished in the struggle for becoming silence.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydBut at this Worse looked so ferocious, that his friend took a long sip, and followed it by a fit of coughing.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandToward the end of supper Marguerite was seized by a more violent fit of coughing than any she had had while I was there.
Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, filsA dancer went down, coughing and clawing at his throat, while yelps of surprise and pain told me others had been wounded.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterThen a burst of coughing again and the blood in thick clots gurgled up from the throat.
The Underworld | James C. Welsh
British Dictionary definitions for cough
/ (kɒf) /
(intr) to expel air or solid matter from the lungs abruptly and explosively through the partially closed vocal chords
(intr) to make a sound similar to this
(tr) to utter or express with a cough or coughs
(intr) slang to confess to a crime
an act, instance, or sound of coughing
a condition of the lungs or throat that causes frequent coughing
Origin of cough
1Derived forms of cough
- cougher, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for cough
[ kôf, kŏf ]
The act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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