Croup is a disease which children sometimes suffer from that makes it difficult for them to breathe and causes them to cough a lot.
croup in British English1
(kruːp)
noun
a throat condition, occurring usually in children, characterized by a hoarse cough and laboured breathing, resulting from inflammation and partial obstruction of the larynx
Derived forms
croupy (ˈcroupy) or croupous (ˈcroupous)
adjective
croupily (ˈcroupily)
adverb
croupiness (ˈcroupiness)
noun
Word origin
C16 croup to cry hoarsely, probably of imitative origin
croup in British English2
or croupe (kruːp)
noun
the hindquarters of a quadruped, esp a horse
Word origin
C13: from Old French croupe; related to German Kruppe
croup in American English1
(krup)
noun
a condition resulting from any obstruction of the larynx, esp. an inflammation ofthe respiratory passages, with labored breathing, hoarse coughing, and laryngeal spasm
Derived forms
croupy (ˈcroupy)
adjective
Word origin
< obs. or dial. croup, to speak hoarsely, of echoic orig.
croup in American English2
(krup)
noun
the top of the rump of a horse, dog, etc., just behind the loin
Word origin
ME croupe < OFr < Frank *kruppa: see crop
Examples of 'croup' in a sentence
croup
Then when Zoe had croup or the nanny got sick and I was forced to stay at home, I fretted all day to get to work.
Gee, Maggie LOST CHILDREN (1993)
`A lot of young ones come down with the croup from time to time.