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:
Ford stock had been on track for its best month in years before the recent hiccup.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
"If we do have a hiccup here and there that is also good to learn from."
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
From time to time, I saw a hiccup here, a little sluggishness there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
But whether the chip industry is dealing with a minor hiccup or a big problem is still up in the air.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
I hear Miss Celia sniffle, then hiccup, then start to cry full-on.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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
At Goldman, Solomon said that the AI investment cycle would inevitably have bumps in the road, including potential market resets, but predicted those hiccups would be temporary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Getting rid of the physical disc also facilitates distribution by reducing supply-chain hiccups and the possibility of a premature leak.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Three years after its planned 2023 opening date, the newly dubbed SkyLink system remains mired in technical hiccups and legal disputes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
His answers were a series of head movements, punctuated by yawning, raised eyebrows, and semi-swallowed hiccups.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were hiccuped and hiccupped.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
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
Even as Europe, particularly Greece, has struggled, the U.S. market has barely hiccuped.
From US News ● Nov. 6, 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
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
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
Whatever it was, my stomach started hiccuping again, jumping around like I was possessed by something nasty.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were hiccuped and hiccupped.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
He has performed well statistically this year, converting 7 of 8 field goals, but hiccupped in big moments.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2021
"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 nodded and hiccupped and sucked hard on the peppermint while the tears streamed down my face and my nose ran uncontrollably.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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
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
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.
