wheeze

[hweez, weez]

verb (used without object)

wheezed, wheezing 

1. to breathe with difficulty and with a whistling sound.

   Asthma caused him to wheeze.

2. to make a sound resembling difficult breathing.

   The old locomotive wheezed into the station.

noun

1. a wheezing breath or sound.

2. an old and frequently used joke, saying, story, etc.

wheeze

/ wiːz /

verb

1. to breathe or utter (something) with a rasping or whistling sound

2. (intr) to make or move with a noise suggestive of wheezy breathing

noun

1. a husky, rasping, or whistling sound or breathing

2. slang,  a trick, idea, or plan (esp in the phrase good wheeze )

3. informal,  a hackneyed joke or anecdote

Other Word Forms

• wheezer noun
• wheezingly adverb
• wheezy adjective
• wheezily adverb
• wheeziness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wheeze¹

1425–75; late Middle English whese (v.), probably < Old Norse hvæsa to hiss

Word History and Origins

Origin of wheeze¹

C15: probably from Old Norse hvǣsa to hiss

Example Sentences

Edi Rama does not deny that there is an element of a publicity stunt to his latest wheeze.

From BBC

And next stop is the Old Firm game at Ibrox, which both clubs pant and wheeze towards.

From BBC

He makes bleak comedies about strivers with shiv-like gags that make you wheeze in pain.

From Los Angeles Times

Some 29% of parents surveyed said their child has had wheezing or breath whistling in the past, most in the last 12 months.

From Los Angeles Times

Colleagues and even activists said my work was a waste of time — that people like Spencer were wheezing artifacts who would eventually disappear as the U.S. embraced Latinos and immigrants.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cough 
• gasp 
• hiss 
• puff 
• snore