coughed; coughing; coughs
1
: to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a sharp, short noise : to emit a cough (see cough entry 2 sense 1)
The dust made him cough repeatedly.
2
: to make a noise like that of coughing
The engine coughed and sputtered and then stopped.
: to expel by coughing
—often used with up
cough up mucus
1
: a sudden, sharp-sounding expulsion of air from the lungs acting as a protective mechanism to clear the air passages or as a symptom of pulmonary disturbance
2
: a condition marked by repeated or frequent coughing
She has a bad cough.
Examples of cough in a Sentence
Verb
She was coughing and sneezing all day.
The dust made him cough.
The engine coughed and sputtered and then stopped.
Noun
He has a cough and a cold.
They both have bad coughs.
I heard a cough from the back of the church.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 4 Mar. 2024
Theo covered her laugh with a cough and kept coughing until Brother Dobbs told her to go see about herself.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
It is spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
Patients are not infectious because the virus is not living in the respiratory tract, where it could be spread by coughing or sneezing, said UCSF’s Henrich.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Exposure to the gas can cause eye pain, sore throat, difficulty breathing, and blurred vision, along with dizziness, nausea, headache, convulsions, blisters, vomiting, and coughing.
—Korin Miller, Verywell Health, 2 Feb. 2024
That means that Americans with allergies now face more miserable days spent with runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing, and sneezing.
—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024
The chronic respiratory disease causes inflammation and a narrowing of the small airways in the lungs, with a range of symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
—Joanne Fowler, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
The measles virus lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person, and can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024
Juliana Kim, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
The train hisses, someone coughs, a blackbird sings.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
This chronic cough is often known as a smoker's cough.10 A smoker's cough may begin as a dry cough but can eventually turn into a wet cough, which produces phlegm.
—Claire Gillespie, Health, 17 Mar. 2024
But the real match made in heaven was the one between Mal and Lexi, who remain besties (cough, cough, get together, please).
—Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2024
Once exposure to the measles virus occurs, symptoms can appear seven to 14 days later, causing high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
It is sometimes used to treat common ailments like cough, sore throat, and indigestion.
—Barbie Cervoni, Verywell Health, 11 Mar. 2024
Measles often begins with a mild to moderate fever, along with a cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes, health officials detailed.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
Students were seen coughing and covering their faces from the smoke, the district attorney said.
—Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 4 Mar. 2024
Theo covered her laugh with a cough and kept coughing until Brother Dobbs told her to go see about herself.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
It is spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
Patients are not infectious because the virus is not living in the respiratory tract, where it could be spread by coughing or sneezing, said UCSF’s Henrich.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Exposure to the gas can cause eye pain, sore throat, difficulty breathing, and blurred vision, along with dizziness, nausea, headache, convulsions, blisters, vomiting, and coughing.
—Korin Miller, Verywell Health, 2 Feb. 2024
That means that Americans with allergies now face more miserable days spent with runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing, and sneezing.
—Nora Colomer, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024
The chronic respiratory disease causes inflammation and a narrowing of the small airways in the lungs, with a range of symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest.
—Joanne Fowler, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024
The measles virus lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person, and can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
Why a measles outbreak is dangerous Measles' symptoms include a fever, cough, runny nose, white spots inside the mouth, and rashes that spread across the body.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
The train hisses, someone coughs, a blackbird sings.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
This chronic cough is often known as a smoker's cough.10 A smoker's cough may begin as a dry cough but can eventually turn into a wet cough, which produces phlegm.
—Claire Gillespie, Health, 17 Mar. 2024
But the real match made in heaven was the one between Mal and Lexi, who remain besties (cough, cough, get together, please).
—Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2024
Once exposure to the measles virus occurs, symptoms can appear seven to 14 days later, causing high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
It is sometimes used to treat common ailments like cough, sore throat, and indigestion.
—Barbie Cervoni, Verywell Health, 11 Mar. 2024
Measles often begins with a mild to moderate fever, along with a cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes, health officials detailed.
—Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cough.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near cough
Cite this Entry
“Cough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cough. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cough
1 of 2 verb1
: to force air from the lungs with a sharp short noise or series of noises
2
: to get rid of by coughing
cough up mucus
3
: to make a noise like that of coughing
an engine coughing and sputtering
cough
2 of 2 noun1
: a condition marked by repeated or frequent coughing
2
: an act or sound of coughing
Medical Definition
cough
1 of 2 intransitive verb
: to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a sharp, short noise usually in a series of efforts
: to expel by coughing
—often used with up
cough up mucus
cough
2 of 2 noun1
: a condition marked by repeated, frequent coughing
he has a bad cough
2
: a sudden, sharp-sounding expulsion of air from the lungs acting as a protective mechanism to clear the air passages or as a symptom of pulmonary disturbance
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