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. 2023
How to use cough in a sentence
This is the language the massive NFL machine sputters, coughs and wheezes as it grinds its way through the draft process.
Which Team Will Make History With Michael Sam Tonight? | Robert Silverman | May 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo, for John Keats the finger vibrates a bit with a series of coughs, then goes flat.
I suffered intense sinus flare-ups, headaches, high blood pressure, wheezes, and coughs.
After all, people with coughs and pneumonia fill hospital beds worldwide, year-round, and most are not isolated.
Chocolate can control coughs The most delicious way to kick your cough, apparently, is chocolate.
His reading of those prayers was interrupted by forced coughs and sneezings and other manifestations of disfavour.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie | George Brenton LaurieWhen he found that his monitory coughs and looks produced no effect on his niece, he warned his sister-in-law.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick NiecksAnd here I'll be now for the rest of the winter, cooking your coughs and cowlds.
My New Curate | P.A. SheehanThey may be used with the other medicines recommended for coughs.
An Epitome of Homeopathic Healing Art | B. L. HillSo we have the "white plague" of tuberculosis, and so we have innumerable minor plagues of coughs and colds and sore throats.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society | Upton Sinclair
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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