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:
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
"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
His only other hiccup came in the third inning, when he hit Jason Matthews with a stray breaking ball on a full count.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
But I couldn’t muster even a faint hiccup of remorse to see the backside of that man.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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
There have already been hiccups in the buildout, and more may be on the horizon.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 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
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
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
Then, reaching the top of a hill, it hiccuped forward, and I gripped my seat and prayed.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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
Every few seconds, the actor could he heard hiccuping between words as he talked to the camera.
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
The only sound to break the silence was that of Hagrid hiccuping from behind his handkerchief.
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
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
As in so many previous attacks, dozens of online banking sites slowed, hiccupped or ground to a halt before recovering several minutes later.
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2013
At last the ocean ended, and the ship hiccupped to a halt at the harbor.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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
He stood still and breathed in hiccupping breaths.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
