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

The latest hiccup for the AI trade inspired investors to attempt to buy the dip last week.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

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

Doomsayers are always on hand, waiting for every hiccup on Wall Street or data center setback to proclaim the technology is about to pop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Thursday’s vote is a huge step forward for the crypto industry’s biggest legislative priority, but even a small hiccup could derail its path to becoming law.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

It was followed by a familiar hiccup, and I knew right away what it was.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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

Given that backdrop—and a recent groundswell of concern about AI agents going rogue—Meta can ill afford any user-privacy hiccups in Muse’s rollout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

September was rocky in 2021 and 2022, but during the past few years, the index has managed to finish the month higher, despite some hiccups here and there.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

It’s the kind of laughter that forces its way out like a bad case of hiccups.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

One man, the late Charles Osborne of Iowa, reportedly hiccuped for 68 years straight.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2021

The patient with the longest recorded case, according to Guinness World Records, was Charles Osborne of Anthon, Iowa, who hiccuped for 68 years straight.

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

Judy hiccuped as she tried not to laugh.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

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

I can tell she’s trying not to sob from the little hiccuping sounds she’s making.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

"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

He had been staggering when he was admitted in early October, and he had hiccupped for days, a sign strongly associated with death from Ebola at the center.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2014

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

Tucker had a squeaky laugh that sounded as if he were hiccupping.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---