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.

---

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

---

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

---

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.

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

Ford stock had been on track for its best month in years before the recent hiccup.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

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

Almost like a mental hiccup, as they watch my brother gulp the quenching blue liquid.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

There have been many periods of jitters and hiccups in recent years as spending on AI ballooned with no sufficient returns in sight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

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

They’ve run into a few hiccups along the way; when they couldn’t find a Cameroonian restaurant in the city, they hired a private chef.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

“We would make terrib—” Elizabeth hiccups, then swallows.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Both division rivals were heavy favorites Sunday and neither hiccuped.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2021

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

It was several minutes before Kreacher hiccuped himself into silence.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" 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

The hiccuping ultimately "escalated to…a good deal of hiccup-induced puking," he said.

From Fox News ● Dec. 11, 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

“What are we going to do, though?” said Hermione finally, hiccuping herself back to seriousness.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

"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

Celeste hiccupped or burped and it turned into a small retch, but nothing came up.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 22, 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

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

Screamed and hiccupped and laughed like my sisters.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

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

Lincoln was hiccupping a lot in the third trimester.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2021

The rain begins again, tapping against the window like an intruder or a warning, and finally, at the very peak of the room’s growing hum, a child begins hiccupping.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---