hiccup
Americannoun
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hiccups
plural
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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
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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:
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
Over longer horizons, however, the S&P 500 on average barely suffers a hiccup because of first hikes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
“It’s just kind of a hiccup along the way to what’s been a pretty long AI infrastructure spending cycle that’s likely to continue,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Investment Management.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
This isn’t its first hiccup in recent months.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
I clenched my throat, but a hiccup burst through anyway.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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
And 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
To be sure, the changes are not without hiccups.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
It broke through the silence in quick, rapid spurts, like the hiccups.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Both division rivals were heavy favorites Sunday and neither hiccuped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
Aníbal Sánchez finally hiccuped in the fifth, a long solo home run from Max Muncy which splashed down deep in the right-center field bleachers, but he’d delivered as much as the Nationals could have hoped.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2019
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
Juanita sniffed and hiccuped as she tried in vain to stop herself from bawling.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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
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 asked, hiccuping from so much crying, but Uncle Abdullah ignored my question.
From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince
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
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
Soon they were so beyond control that they collapsed onto two couches, shrieking and hiccupping and holding their noses.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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