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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

4. cough(Verb)

   To make a noise like a cough

   The engine coughed and sputtered.

   Etymology: 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

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

2. Cough(verb)

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

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

3. Cough(verb)

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

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

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

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

5. Cough(verb)

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

   Etymology: [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.

How to pronounce cough?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say cough in sign language?

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. Lejla Szabo:

   I thought the flu -- you have a cough and cold and you stay home for two days, it didn't cross my mind it could lead to something this serious.

2. Donald Trump:

   I don't like that, you know, I don't like that, if you're going to cough, please leave the room. You just can't, you just can't cough.

3. Gayle King:

   But at points... at points during the conversation Gayle King would cough very loudly... so they were aware that Gayle King was there.

4. William Schaffner:

   We do not test people with no symptoms because it's a resource issue, however, we are emphasizing that people who have this small cluster of important symptoms -- fever and anything related to the lower respiratory tract such as cough and difficulty breathing -- reach out to be evaluated.

5. Sven Jordt:

   Our nose, mouth and throat contain nerve endings that sense painful and irritating chemicals in the inhaled air. For example, the burning, stinging feeling elicited by smoke inhalation is mediated by these nerve endings. They also trigger sneezing and cough, basically to defend the lungs from inhaling toxic chemicals, the new chemicals we identified in e-cigarettes activate these nerve endings more strongly. Especially when activated over a longer period, as in smokers, and potentially in e-cigarette users, these mechanisms have been shown to cause inflammation and asthma and contribute to emphysema.

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