HOW TO PRONOUNCE
cough
/kɔf/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does cough mean?
verb
- Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth.
- To cause (oneself or something) to be in a certain condition in the manner described in etymology 1 sense 1.1.
- To express (words, etc.) in the manner described in etymology 1 sense 1.1.
More meanings (10)
verb
- (figuratively) To surrender (information); to confess.
- (figuratively, slang) Chiefly followed by up: to give up or hand over (something); especially, to pay up (money).
- To push air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound) and out through the mouth, usually to expel something blocking or irritating the airway.
- To make a noise like a cough.
- (slang) To surrender information; to confess, to spill the beans.
noun
- A sudden, often involuntary expulsion of air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth.
- A bout of repeated coughing (verb etymology 1 sense 2.1); also, a medical condition that causes one to cough.
- (figuratively) A noise or sound like a cough (etymology 2, noun sense 1).
- A vocalisation from a bird or other animal resembling a human cough.
interjection
- Used to represent the sound of a cough (noun sense 1), especially when focusing attention on a following utterance, often an attribution of blame or a euphemism: ahem.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/kɔf/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Madame de Bellegarde closed her eyes and gave a little cough, which, as a piece of dissimulation, struck Newman as really heroic.
I fancied, indeed, that he sometimes chuckled audibly over this reflection, but the carrier said he was only troubled with a cough.
More book examples (3)
The peculiar questioning cough of early evening is resonant and deep in vibration, but it is a call rather than a roar.
During the spring term she had measles which left her with a hacking cough, and she did not regain her lost weight.
A cough is an effort of Nature to bring up the phlegm, which would otherwise accumulate, and in the end cause death.