hiccup
Americannoun
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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.
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Usually hiccups. the condition of having such spasms.
She got the hiccups just as she began to speak.
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Informal. a minor difficulty, interruption, setback, etc..
a hiccup in the stock market.
verb (used without object)
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to make the sound of a hiccup.
The motor hiccuped as it started.
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to have the hiccups.
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Informal. to experience a temporary decline, setback, interruption, etc..
There was general alarm when the economy hiccuped.
noun
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Technical name: singultus. a spasm of the diaphragm producing a sudden breathing in followed by a closing of the glottis, resulting in a sharp sound
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the state or condition of having such spasms
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informal a minor difficulty or problem
verb
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(intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups
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(tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hiccup
1570–80; alteration of hocket, hickock, equivalent to hic + -ock; akin to Low German hick hiccup; see hocket
Explanation
A hiccup is a jerky, repeated contraction in your diaphragm — it's a sort of involuntary tic you can feel in your throat and chest. People who have hiccups usually make a "hic" sound. Hiccups are a kind of spasm that can be brief or linger frustratingly. One man famously suffered from hiccups for 68 years — for that whole time, not a single folk remedy (doing a headstand, drinking water fast, being scared by someone, and so on) worked to relieve them. The word hiccup is imitative of the sound of hiccups. An Old English word for it was ælfsogoða, "elf heartburn," since hiccups were thought to be caused by elves.
Vocabulary lists containing hiccup
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 5–February 11, 2022
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Vocabulary from Readings 3, Unit 1
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Vocabulary from Readings 3, Unit 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Blue Origin’s first commercial launch for its massive new rocket suffered a mission hiccup Sunday, a setback for Jeff Bezos’ rocket company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
"If we do have a hiccup here and there that is also good to learn from."
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
After the hiccup, Riley said the team responded well and it was back to business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
What happened at Blue Owl wasn’t an isolated hiccup.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026
A little hiccup of excitement leaped in her chest.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
The primary goals of this 13th test launch were to once again demonstrate those redesigns in flight, this time without any hiccups.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Any hiccups in the pace of the buildout could significantly affect memory pricing, he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Such a vaunted valuation—which could easily top $1 trillion once Anthropic gets its own pending IPO out the door—means the company can’t afford hiccups that stunt its growth potential.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
In recent years his industry has encountered serious hiccups - affecting both of the world's most important coffee beans.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Blanca swallowed her hiccups and blew her nose.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Both division rivals were heavy favorites Sunday and neither hiccuped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
One man, the late Charles Osborne of Iowa, reportedly hiccuped for 68 years straight.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2021
As for Mr. Osborne, who hiccuped for almost 70 years, he learned to live with it after trying various remedies and seeing multiple specialists.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2019
Even as Europe, particularly Greece, has struggled, the U.S. market has barely hiccuped.
From US News ● Nov. 6, 2015
She hiccuped and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her T-shirt.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
The 15-time major winner, 50, can be seen co-operating with authorities and then hiccuping while he is being driven away in the back of the police car.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
Within seconds, I’m crying, sweating and hiccuping — simultaneously.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2022
Every few seconds, the actor could he heard hiccuping between words as he talked to the camera.
From Fox News ● Dec. 11, 2021
Others, though, would work on exams with hiccuping computers, at uncomfortable tables with other children or adults making noise nearby.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 27, 2021
Stephen clicked off his light, and Flash seemed to calm a bit, although he was definitely hiccuping.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were hiccuped and hiccupped.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
"The smallest things upset me. The other day I jumped when a woman in the street hiccupped as she walked past me."
From Fox News ● Dec. 5, 2019
He hiccupped in late April, allowing three runs in two innings, but the Nationals had seen what they needed to.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 4, 2019
Celeste hiccupped or burped and it turned into a small retch, but nothing came up.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 22, 2019
Miss Josie cried into a lace handkerchief, and Mr. Jeet hiccupped as tears pooled in his eyes.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Or a friend might send me another sweet video of her newborn hiccupping.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2021
“I still write too many of her patented hiccupping, chicken-bone sentences,” said the L.A.-based writer and founder of Boyle Heights’ Libros Schmibros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2021
His hiccupping went on for hours, and finally ended late that afternoon when their car broke down on the way to their honeymoon destination.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 24, 2021
Lincoln was hiccupping a lot in the third trimester.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2021
You can imagine yourself brilliant as your sister, slower moving, quiet and thoughtful as your older brother or filled up with the hiccupping joy and laughter of the baby in the family.
From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
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.
