COUGH
What does "COUGH" mean?
To expel air suddenly and noisily from the lungs to clear the throat or airways.
Meanings
- To force air out of the lungs with a sharp sound, usually to clear an irritation. She covered her mouth and tried not to cough during the quiet recital.
- An act or sound of coughing, or a condition causing repeated coughing. He's had a stubborn cough since the cold weather started.
- To produce a sputtering, irregular sound, as a struggling engine. The old car coughed twice and finally died on the hill. figurative
Did you know?
- Air leaving the lungs in a cough can move at high speed - studies of coughs and sneezes have clocked the expelled jet at dozens of miles per hour.
Word origin
From Middle English 'coughen', of imitative origin, echoing the harsh sound itself; related to Dutch 'kuchen'.
Remember it
COUGH ends in -OUGH like ROUGH and TOUGH - the same throat-clearing 'f' sound, English at its most stubborn.
A little poem
One bark in the dark-
the whole quiet room turns, waits,
then forgives the noise.
haiku
Wordplay
- The library banned the sick man. Apparently he kept checking out books with a hacking cough.
What it teaches
The body interrupts politeness to protect the lungs; sometimes the rude reflex is the wise one.
Quick facts
What does COUGH mean?
To expel air suddenly and noisily from the lungs to clear the throat or airways.
Is COUGH a valid word?
Yes — COUGH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is COUGH?
COUGH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does COUGH come from?
From Middle English 'coughen', of imitative origin, echoing the harsh sound itself; related to Dutch 'kuchen'.
What can COUGH teach us?
The body interrupts politeness to protect the lungs; sometimes the rude reflex is the wise one.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.