# cough

Pronunciation: US say "KAWF" /kɔf/; UK say "KOF" /kɒf/

## Verb

1. To expel air sharply from the lungs through the glottis, producing a short, explosive sound, usually to clear something irritating the airway.
   - Simple: To force air out of your lungs with a sudden, noisy burst, often to clear your throat.
   - _Patients with asthma often cough when exposed to smoke or dust._
   - _He began to cough violently after inhaling the fumes._
4. To force something out of the lungs or throat by pushing air sharply through the glottis, often followed by up.
   - Simple: To force something out of your throat or lungs with a sudden, noisy burst of air.
   - _The patient coughed up blood, alarming the nurses on duty._
   - _He had to cough the lozenge back up when it lodged in his throat._
5. To give up or hand over something, especially to pay money, often reluctantly. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To hand over money or something else, often when you don't want to.
   - _The company eventually coughed up millions to settle the lawsuit._
   - _Fans had to cough up a small fortune for front-row tickets._
6. To utter words in a rough, broken manner, forcing them out as if through a cough.
   - Simple: To say words in a rough, broken way, as if while coughing.
   - _He coughed out a few hoarse syllables before collapsing._
   - _The dying man managed to cough a final warning to his son._
7. To make a short, rough sound resembling a cough, as a machine or engine sometimes does.
   - Simple: To make a short, rough sound that is like a cough.
   - _The aging motor coughed and sputtered in the cold morning air._
   - _Old diesel engines cough loudly before settling into a steady rhythm._
11. To surrender information or confess something, giving up what one has been keeping hidden.
   - Simple: To give up secret information or admit the truth about something.
   - _After hours in the interview room, the suspect coughed every detail of the plan._
   - _Investigators pressed the witness to cough the names of everyone involved._
12. To confess or give up information, finally telling what one has been concealing. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To finally admit the truth or tell a secret you were hiding.
   - _After a long silence, the suspect finally coughed._
   - _They knew he would cough once the pressure mounted._
13. To bring oneself or something into a particular condition through the act of coughing.
   - Simple: To make yourself or something reach some state by coughing hard.
   - _He coughed himself hoarse during the long, sleepless night._
   - _The baby could cough herself red in the face during a fit._

## Noun

2. A sudden, often involuntary burst of air expelled from the lungs through the glottis, producing a short, explosive sound.
   - Simple: A sudden, noisy burst of air pushed out from your lungs, often without meaning to.
   - _A single sharp cough broke the silence of the lecture hall._
   - _The doctor listened to each cough to judge how deep the infection went._
3. A bout of repeated coughing, or a medical condition that causes one to cough repeatedly.
   - Simple: A spell of coughing again and again, or an illness that makes you cough.
   - _A persistent cough can be a sign of a deeper respiratory problem._
   - _The clinic treated dozens of patients for a winter cough this month._
8. A noise resembling a cough, such as the sound made by a stalling engine or a misfiring machine.
   - Simple: A sound that is like a cough, such as a noise made by a machine.
   - _The motorcycle let out a rough cough and then fell silent._
   - _A metallic cough came from the pipes as the heating kicked in._
10. Any bird or animal call that resembles the sound of a person coughing.
   - Simple: A sound made by a bird or animal that is like a human cough.
   - _The leopard's warning cough echoed across the valley at dusk._
   - _Birdwatchers recognized the raven's harsh cough among the calls._

## Interjection

9. Used in writing to represent a deliberate cough, drawing attention to a following remark, often one that hints at blame or softens an awkward truth.
   - Simple: Used in writing to show a fake cough, often to hint at something without saying it directly.
   - _The report was finished on time by, cough, the whole team, not just the manager._
   - _Our fearless leader was, cough, mysteriously absent during the crisis._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–7, 11–13** — From Middle English coughen ("to cough; to vomit"), from Old English *cohhian, from Proto-West Germanic *kuh- ("to cough"), ultimately of onomatopoeic origin: that is, it imitates the sound of coughing.
**Meanings 2–3, 8–10** — The noun comes from Middle English cough ("a cough; illness causing coughing"), from the verb coughen (see etymology 1). The interjection is probably derived from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cough (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).