cough

verb/kɔf/

Frequency rank: #4,488 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a sharp sound, often due to illness or irritation.

Illustration for the English word “cough”

Example sentence

She had to cough several times before she could speak clearly.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 4,401–4,500