hiccup

American  

[hik-uhp, -uhp] / ˈhɪk ʌp, -əp /

Or hic-cough

noun

• hiccups
  plural

1. 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.

2. Usually hiccups. the condition of having such spasms.

   She got the hiccups just as she began to speak.

3. Informal. a minor difficulty, interruption, setback, etc..

   a hiccup in the stock market.

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verb (used without object)

hiccuped, hiccupped, hiccuping, hiccupping

1. to make the sound of a hiccup.

   The motor hiccuped as it started.

2. to have the hiccups.

3. Informal. to experience a temporary decline, setback, interruption, etc..

   There was general alarm when the economy hiccuped.

hiccup British  

/ ˈhɪkʌp /

noun

1. 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

2. the state or condition of having such spasms

3. informal a minor difficulty or problem

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verb

1. (intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups

2. (tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hiccups
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hiccup

1570–80; alteration of hocket, hickock, equivalent to hic + -ock; akin to Low German hick hiccup; see hocket

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hiccup hiccups hiccuped hiccuping hiccupped hiccupping

But there was a last-minute hiccup: Some members of the coalition felt the deal fell considerably short of what they had been seeking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The result is a hiccup for Russell, who has a golden opportunity to make up ground on team-mate Antonelli, who has a 30-place grid penalty.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

They don’t think the labor market is is suffering a hiccup every summer.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The artificial-intelligence boom could see a hiccup, along with the torrent of capital spending that has kept deals flowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Audrey giggled, but it sounded forced and more like a hiccup.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

For all its little hiccups, “Carrie” does make one feel sad maybe 80% of the time, and anxious the rest of it, which is to say it does its job.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Now Bob Chesney and the Bruins ask for patience as they work through their early hiccups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

That means the company can little afford continued hiccups with Starship, the successor to SpaceX’s tried and tested Falcon 9 rockets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

But I promise to be vulnerable with you about the hiccups, to celebrate the wins — and to always translate financial jargon into tips we can actually use.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Seeing Doreen supported in my arms and silent except for a few wet hiccups, the woman strode away down the hall to her cubicle with its ancient Singer sewing machine and white ironing board.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

In one July 8 clip, Bolsonaro hiccuped approximately 14 times within the first minute.

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

But when Wilder's routine hiccuped regularly in the 1960s, he lost that explosive snap in his barbed approach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2015

She hiccuped loudly, patted her hair, and pulled herself up on Harry’s helping arm.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Then the chuckle caught in her throat and turned into a quiet, hiccuping sob.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

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

And when he speaks, it’s in a slow, warbling singsong, at once contemplative and idiosyncratic, especially when he pauses in the middle of sentences as though his mind is hiccuping with existential thoughts.

From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2022

Every few seconds, the actor could he heard hiccuping between words as he talked to the camera.

From Fox News ● Dec. 11, 2021

Sandy is shaking each time he cries, whole body moving with every sob, hiccuping and coughing and all.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

"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

I longed for a phrase that simply grew, one note to the next, like a singer; instead the lines hiccupped or gasped, the vibrato intermittent or delayed.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 12, 2017

Just as notable is the fact that Future Brown sought out women like Shawnna, 3D Na’Tee, and Maluca, whose careers have hiccupped, often through little fault of their own.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 23, 2015

On this breezy late-August night, the police van hiccupped and bounced over the streets’ grooves and potholes.

From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2012

A feverish baby hiccupped on its mother’s breast.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

If you are gargling at the same time that you are hiccupping, you might aspirate water.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

“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

Lincoln was hiccupping a lot in the third trimester.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2021

In the many recent presidential live streams, Bolsonaro’s hiccuping is evident, and he has prefaced some appearances by acknowledging his hiccupping and disrupted speech.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2021

“You’d best leave this mule alone, Flora,” I scolded, raising my voice to be heard over Lucky Pete’s piteous braying and hiccupping.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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