hiccups

1. 1
   nouncountablepluralwith the

   The condition of having repeated spasms of the diaphragm, each one cut off suddenly to produce a sharp 'hic' sound.

   A sudden case of the hiccups interrupted her speech halfway through.

   He tried drinking water upside down to cure his hiccups.

   Note

   Here the plural names one condition rather than many spasms. You have the hiccups or get the hiccups, usually with the definite article, though a possessive works too (cure his hiccups). A single bout is a case of the hiccups. Doctors call it singultus, or more technically diaphragmatic myoclonus. Those terms belong to clinical writing, not everyday talk.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of hiccup.

   A few hiccups escaped before she could cover her mouth.

   The spicy meal left him with hiccups all evening.

   Note

   Each hiccup is counted here as a separate spasm or sound, as in several loud hiccups. That sets it apart from the condition of having them, which takes the article. The plural also serves the informal sense of minor setbacks: a project can hit a few hiccups without anyone's diaphragm being involved.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of hiccup.

   He hiccups loudly each time he drinks soda too quickly.

   Whenever she laughs hard, she hiccups for a full minute.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the noun plural, so only the sentence tells them apart: in he hiccups it is a verb, and in loud hiccups it is a noun. It usually takes no object. It can take one when the words themselves come out broken by a spasm, as in she hiccups an apology. It also stretches to anything that gives an abortive, hiccup-like sound.

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