- 1[intransitive] to force out air suddenly and noisily through your throat, for example when you have a cold I couldn't stop coughing. to cough nervously/politely/discreetly
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- 2[transitive] cough something (up) to force something out of your throat or lungs by coughing Sometimes she coughed (up) blood.
- 3[intransitive] (of an engine) to make a sudden unpleasant noise The old engine coughed and spluttered into life. Phrasal Verbscough up
verb jump to other results
NAmE//kɔf//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they cough he / she / it coughs
past simple coughed
-ing form coughing
Check pronunciation: cough