COUGH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cough mean? 

• COUGH (noun)
  The noun COUGH has 1 sense:

1. a sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis

  Familiarity information: COUGH used as a noun is very rare.

• COUGH (verb)
  The verb COUGH has 1 sense:

1. exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion

  Familiarity information: COUGH used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COUGH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

cough; coughing

Hypernyms ("cough" is a kind of...):

symptom ((medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease)

Holonyms ("cough" is a part of...):

respiratory disease; respiratory disorder; respiratory illness (a disease affecting the respiratory system)

Derivation:

cough (exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion)

• COUGH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cough    ... he / she / it coughs   
Past simple: coughed   
Past participle: coughed   
-ing form: coughing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

The smoker coughs all day

Hypernyms (to "cough" is one way to...):

cough out; cough up; expectorate; spit out; spit up (discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cough"):

hack; whoop (cough spasmodically)

clear the throat; hawk (clear mucus or food from one's throat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Also:

cough out; cough up (discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth)

cough up (give reluctantly)

Derivation:

cough; coughing (a sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis)

 Context examples 

It spreads from person to person through coughs, sneezes and saliva, as well as through contact with contaminated items and surfaces.

(Mumps Virus, NCI Thesaurus)

Don't keep coughing so, Kitty, for Heaven's sake!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Emphysema is a debilitating disease, and people with emphysema have difficulty breathing along with a persistent cough and phlegm.

(Study finds link between long-term exposure to air pollution and emphysema, National Institutes of Health)

The NIH study attempted to mimic virus being deposited from an infected person onto everyday surfaces in a household or hospital setting, such as through coughing or touching objects.

(New coronavirus stable for hours on surface, National Institutes of Health)

A drug used to treat symptoms of asthma, such as trouble breathing, tight chest, wheezing, coughing, and runny nose.

(Montelukast sodium, NCI Dictionary)

But your cough can last for several weeks after the infection is gone.

(Acute Bronchitis, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Oh, said the father, she has plenty of good sense; and the mother said: Oh, she can see the wind coming up the street, and hear the flies coughing.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"Don't let's talk about it," she said with a catch in her voice that she changed to a cough.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It also has a depressant action on the cough center and may be given to control intractable cough associated with terminal lung cancer.

(Methadone hydrochloride, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

By binding to the mu-opioid receptors, oxycodone terephthalate also causes euphoria, anxiolysis, miosis, sedation, physical dependence, constipation, respiratory depression as well as a depressive effect on the cough center in the medulla.

(Oxycodone Terephthalate, NCI Thesaurus)