cough
verb /kɒf/
/kɔːf/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they cough | /kɒf/ /kɔːf/ |
| he / she / it coughs | /kɒfs/ /kɔːfs/ |
| past simple coughed | /kɒft/ /kɔːft/ |
| past participle coughed | /kɒft/ /kɔːft/ |
| -ing form coughing | /ˈkɒfɪŋ/ /ˈkɔːfɪŋ/ |
- [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
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessb1- He had a coughing fit and couldn't speak for a few moments.
- The brandy made her cough and splutter.
- He inhaled the smoke and started coughing and spluttering.
- She coughed nervously and looked at me.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a bit
- a little
- lightly
- …
- cough and splutter
- a coughing fit
- [transitive] cough something (up) to force something out of your throat or lungs by coughing
- Sometimes she coughed (up) blood.
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessb1- He vomited and began coughing up blood.
- He coughed the dust out of his lungs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a bit
- a little
- lightly
- …
- cough and splutter
- a coughing fit
- [intransitive] (of an engine) to make a sudden noise, especially as a sign that the engine is not working correctly
- The old engine coughed and spluttered into life.
Word OriginMiddle English: of imitative origin; related to Dutch kuchen ‘to cough’ and German keuchen ‘to pant’.