hiccup

American  

[hik-uhp, -uhp] / ˈhɪk ʌp, -əp /

Or hic-cough

noun

hiccups plural

1. 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.

2. Usually hiccups. the condition of having such spasms.

   She got the hiccups just as she began to speak.

3. Informal. a minor difficulty, interruption, setback, etc..

   a hiccup in the stock market.

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verb (used without object)

hiccuped, hiccupped, hiccuping, hiccupping

1. to make the sound of a hiccup.

   The motor hiccuped as it started.

2. to have the hiccups.

3. Informal. to experience a temporary decline, setback, interruption, etc..

   There was general alarm when the economy hiccuped.

hiccup British  

/ ˈhɪkʌp /

noun

1. 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

2. the state or condition of having such spasms

3. informal a minor difficulty or problem

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verb

1. (intr) to make a hiccup or hiccups

2. (tr) to utter with a hiccup or hiccups

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hiccups
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hiccup hiccups hiccuped hiccuping hiccupped hiccupping

Any slight hiccup could spark selling, such as the words of a South Korean official.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

"If we do have a hiccup here and there that is also good to learn from."

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

After the hiccup, Riley said the team responded well and it was back to business.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

From time to time, I saw a hiccup here, a little sluggishness there.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026

It’s fine—Cal’s a cinnamon roll—but every time he does it, there’s this hiccup in my chest.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

SpaceX will aspire the next time around to execute a launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and landing burn of the booster offshore without hiccups.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

Products must turn faster through a central warehouse, and there is a greater risk that spoilage or production hiccups result in unfilled orders, executives and employees said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Any hiccups in the pace of the buildout could significantly affect memory pricing, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

In recent years his industry has encountered serious hiccups - affecting both of the world's most important coffee beans.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

I forced more air into my throat so the hiccups would become more obnoxious.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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

She hiccuped loudly, patted her hair, and pulled herself up on Harry’s helping arm.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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

Within seconds, I’m crying, sweating and hiccuping — simultaneously.”

From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2022

The hiccuping ultimately "escalated to…a good deal of hiccup-induced puking," he said.

From Fox News ● Dec. 11, 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

“What are we going to do, though?” said Hermione finally, hiccuping herself back to seriousness.

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

Just as notable is the fact that Future Brown sought out women like Shawnna, 3D Na’Tee, and Maluca, whose careers have hiccupped, often through little fault of their own.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 23, 2015

For days, he hiccupped blood, feeling each day was his last, until finally, one morning, he woke up and knew he would live.

From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2014

I hiccupped, finally finding the bananas you’d refused to eat that evening and handing you one.

From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman

“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

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

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