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hiccup

or hic-cough

[ hik-uhp, -uh p ]
/ ˈhɪk ʌp, -əp /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hiccup ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used without object), hic·cuped or hic·cupped, hic·cup·ing or hic·cup·ping.

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.

RELATED WORDS

emit, gush, ventilate, repeat, disgorge, erupt, vomit, discharge, eruct, hiccup, irrupt, vent, eject, expel, spew, hurl, explode, burp, belch, eructate

Nearby words

  1. hic et nunc,
  2. hic et ubique,
  3. hic jacet,
  4. hic requiescit in pace,
  5. hiccough,
  6. hiccups,
  7. hichens,
  8. hick,
  9. hick-joint pointing,
  10. hickey

Origin of hiccup

1570–80; alteration of hocket, hickock, equivalent to hic + -ock; akin to Low German hick hiccup; see hocket
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hiccuping

British Dictionary definitions for hiccuping

hiccup

hiccough

/ (ˈhɪkʌp) /

noun

a spasm of the diaphragm producing a sudden breathing in followed by a closing of the glottis, resulting in a sharp soundTechnical name: singultus
the state or condition of having such spasms
informal a minor difficulty or problem

verb -cups, -cuping, -cuped, -cups, -cupping, -cupped, -coughs, -coughing or -coughed

(intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups
(tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups

Word Origin for hiccup

C16: of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hiccuping
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for hiccuping

hiccup

n.

A spasm of the diaphragm causing sudden inhalation interrupted by spasmodic closure of the glottis, producing a characteristic noise.
Related formshic′cup null v.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.