hiccup
or hic-cough
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.
Usually hiccups. the condition of having such spasms: She got the hiccups just as she began to speak.
Informal. a minor difficulty, interruption, setback, etc.: a hiccup in the stock market.
to make the sound of a hiccup: The motor hiccuped as it started.
to have the hiccups.
Informal. to experience a temporary decline, setback, interruption, etc.: There was general alarm when the economy hiccuped.
Origin of hiccup
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hiccup in a sentence
That's too weird, too indigestible—don't start hiccuping again.
The Planet Strappers | Raymond Zinke GallunHe tossed the cans into his sack in a perfectly reckless manner, until Broadway was sick and hiccuping with fear.
The Skipper and the Skipped | Holman DayMr. Brackett was before the fire in the office, hiccuping with repletion and stuffing tobacco into the bowl of his clay pipe.
The Skipper and the Skipped | Holman Day"T-a-s-t-e and s-e-e," cried the man who had fallen down, hiccuping.
Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1 (of 3) | James Athearn JonesThe reprobate ended his boastful confession with another burst of hiccuping, and Staniford helplessly laughed.
The Lady of the Aroostook | William Dean Howells
British Dictionary definitions for hiccup
hiccough
/ (ˈhɪkʌp) /
a spasm of the diaphragm producing a sudden breathing in followed by a closing of the glottis, resulting in a sharp sound: Technical name: singultus
the state or condition of having such spasms
informal a minor difficulty or problem
(intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups
(tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups
Origin of hiccup
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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