VocabauraVOCABAURA

cough

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To push air from the lungs through the glottis and out through the mouth, usually to expel something blocking or irritating the airway.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahf
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɑf

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    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.

  2. intransitive

    To make a noise like a cough.

noun

  1. A sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis

  2. A sudden, often involuntary expulsion of air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth.

  3. A bout of repeated coughing (verb etymology 1, sense 2.1); also, a medical condition that causes one to cough.

  4. A vocalisation from a bird or other animal resembling a human cough.

  5. figurative

    A noise or sound like a cough (etymology 2, sense 1).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: 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.

Used this way, cough is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use cough

  • “The smoker coughs all day.”verb

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “cough”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

cough reflexcough syrupcough medicineslight cough

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • coughingnounInflected form

    A sudden noisy expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cough dropnounCompound term

    A medicated lozenge used to soothe the throat.

  • cough outverbCompound term

    Discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth.

  • cough upverbCompound term

    Give reluctantly.

  • coughing upnounCompound term

    The act of expelling (food or phlegm) by coughing.

  • whooping coughnounCompound term

    A disease of the respiratory mucous membrane.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “cough” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.