sneeze
- to emit air or breath suddenly, forcibly, and audibly through the nose and mouth by involuntary, spasmodic action.
- an act or sound of sneezing.
- sneeze at, Informal. to treat with contempt; scorn: $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at.
Origin of sneeze
Examples from the Web for sneeze
Contemporary Examples
Will went on to say doctors believe a “sneeze or some cough” can spread Ebola.
It can spread through a sneeze, cough, sharing a beverage or speaking up close with someone who has the disease.
Brosseau said her views had nothing to do with Ebola spreading among the public at large through a sneeze or cough.
And our immune system, admirable and dedicated protector of our health, is making us sneeze our brains out.
No one applauded–rare on a night when hands tend to clap after every cough and sneeze.
Historical Examples
And they did not dawdle; the poor old woman was packed in, in the time one takes to sneeze.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
"I cannot jest on such a subject," said the Angel, with a sneeze.
Another SheafJohn Galsworthy
"I know it did, and must have been the sneeze of a man at that," replied the second scout.
Boy Scouts on Hudson BayG. Harvey Ralphson
Again she was moved to laughter and had to pretend to sneeze.
Mary Louise and Josie O'GormanEmma Speed Sampson
It has not to learn how to do this any more than we have to learn to cough or sneeze.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4)J. Arthur Thomson
sneeze
- (intr) to expel air and nasal secretions from the nose involuntarily, esp as the result of irritation of the nasal mucous membrane
- the act or sound of sneezing
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for sneeze
v.
late 15c., from Old English fneosan "to snort, sneeze," from Proto-Germanic *fneusanan (cf. Middle Dutch fniesen, Dutch fniezen "to sneeze;" Old Norse fnysa "to snort;" Old Norse hnjosa, Swedish nysa "to sneeze;" Old High German niosan, German niesen "to sneeze"), from Proto-Germanic base *fneu-s- "sneeze," of imitative origin, as is PIE *pneu- "to breathe" (cf. Greek pnein "to breathe").
Other imitative words for it, perhaps in various ways related to each other, include Latin sternuere (cf. Italian starnutare, French éternuer, Spanish estornudar), Breton strevia, Sanskrit ksu-, Lithuanian čiaudeti, Polish kichać, Russian čichat'.
English forms in sn- might be due to a misreading of the uncommon fn- (represented in only eight words in Clark Hall, mostly in words to do with breathing), or from Norse influence. OED suggests Middle English fnese had been reduced to simple nese by early 15c., and sneeze is a "strengthened form" of this, "assisted by its phonetic appropriateness." Related: Sneezed; sneezing. To sneeze at "to regard as of little value" (usually with negative) is attested from 1806.
n.
"act of sneezing," 1640s, from sneeze (v.).
sneeze
(snēz)- To expel air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.
- The act or an instance of sneezing.