Definitions for cough
kɔf, kɒfcough

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cough, coughing(verb)

   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

2. cough(verb)

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

   "The smoker coughs all day"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cough(Noun)

   A sudden, usually noisy expulsion of air from the lungs, often involuntary.

   Behind me, I heard a distinct, dry cough.

2. cough(Noun)

   A condition that causes one to cough; a tendency to cough.

   Sorry, I can't come to work today u2013 I've got a nasty cough.

3. cough(Verb)

   To push air from the lungs in a quick, noisy explosion.

   I breathed in a load of smoke by mistake, and started to cough.

4. cough(Verb)

   To make a noise like a cough

   The engine coughed and sputtered.

Origin: From a imitative base *kox- (unattested in Old English, but probably present as *cohhian; compare cohhetan). Cognate with Dutch kuchen, German keuchen, Albanian hukat.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cough(verb)

   to expel air, or obstructing or irritating matter, from the lungs or air passages, in a noisy and violent manner

2. Cough(verb)

   to expel from the lungs or air passages by coughing; -- followed by up; as, to cough up phlegm

3. Cough(verb)

   to bring to a specified state by coughing; as, he coughed himself hoarse

4. Cough(verb)

   a sudden, noisy, and violent expulsion of air from the chest, caused by irritation in the air passages, or by the reflex action of nervous or gastric disorder, etc

5. Cough(verb)

   the more or less frequent repetition of coughing, constituting a symptom of disease

Origin: [Cg. D. kuch. See Cough, v. i. ]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cough

   A cough, is a sudden and often repetitively occurring reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. The cough reflex consists of three phases: an inhalation, a forced exhalation against a closed glottis, and a violent release of air from the lungs following opening of the glottis, usually accompanied by a distinctive sound. Coughing is either voluntary or involuntary. Frequent coughing usually indicates the presence of a disease. Many viruses and bacteria benefit evolutionarily by causing the host to cough, which helps to spread the disease to new hosts. Most of the time, irregular coughing is caused by a respiratory tract infection but can be triggered by choking, smoking, air pollution, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, post-nasal drip, chronic bronchitis, lung tumors, heart failure and medications such as ACE inhibitors. Treatment should target the cause; for example, smoking cessation or discontinuing ACE inhibitors. Cough suppressants such as codeine or dextromethorphan are frequently prescribed, but have been demonstrated to have little effect. Other treatment options may target airway inflammation or may promote mucus expectoration. As it is a natural protective reflex, suppressing the cough reflex might have damaging effects, especially if the cough is productive.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cough

   kof, n. an effort of the lungs to throw off injurious matter, accompanied by a harsh sound, proceeding from the throat.—v.i. to make this effort.—v.t. to expel from the throat or lungs by a cough.—ns. Cough′-drop, -loz′enge, a sweetmeat taken to cure coughing; Cough′er; Cough′ing,—Cough down, to drown a speaker's voice by coughing, so that he must stop. [M. E. coughen; cf. Dut. kuchen, Ger. keuchen, keichen, to gasp.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cough

   A sudden, audible expulsion of air from the lungs through a partially closed glottis, preceded by inhalation. It is a protective response that serves to clear the trachea, bronchi, and/or lungs of irritants and secretions, or to prevent aspiration of foreign materials into the lungs.

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of cough in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of cough in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of cough in a Sentence

1. George Herbert:

   Love and a cough cannot be hid.

2. Vikrant Parsai:

   If you can hide love and a cough, then I say you can hide your ignorance too.

3. Phil Donahue:

   This was a catastrophic injury, tomas was imprisoned in bed. He couldn't even cough.

4. House Speaker Paul Ryan:

   Put a cough drop in the corner of your mouth, it keeps you salivating so you don't go thirsty.

5. Prashant Saxena:

   Patients with no history of respiratory ailments are complaining of cough and breathing issues.

Images & Illustrations of cough

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