I. cough 1 /kɒf $ kɒːf/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: From an unrecorded Old English cohhian ]
1 . to suddenly push air out of your throat with a short sound, often repeatedly:
Matthew coughed and cleared his throat.
I think I’m getting a cold or flu – I’ve been coughing and sneezing all day.
2 . to make a sudden sound like someone coughing:
The engine coughed and spluttered, then stopped altogether.
cough up phrasal verb
1 . informal to give someone money, information etc when you do not really want to:
Come on, cough up.
cough something ↔ up
Insurance companies had to cough up £10 million in storm damage claims.
2 . cough something ↔ up to push something out of your throat or lungs into your mouth:
You must go to the doctor if you’re coughing up blood.
II. cough 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a medical condition that makes you cough a lot:
He's got a bad cough.
Symptoms include a sore throat and a nasty cough.
cough medicine
2 . [countable] the action or sound made when you cough:
Stuart gave an embarrassed cough.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have (got) a cough
I’ve had a cough for weeks now.
▪ get/catch a cough
A lot of people get coughs at this time of year.
■ adjectives
▪ a bad cough
Jason’s at home with a bad cough.
▪ a nasty/violent cough (=a very bad cough)
▪ a smoker's cough (=one caused by smoking)
▪ a dry cough (=one that does not produce any liquid)
▪ a loose cough (=one that produces liquid)
▪ a chesty cough British English (=one that affects your chest)
▪ a hacking cough (=a bad cough with an unpleasant sound)
▪ a slight cough (=one that is not very serious)
He has a slight cough but I don’t think he’s really ill.
▪ a tickly cough (=one that keeps irritating your throat)
▪ a persistent cough (=one that is difficult to cure)
■ cough + NOUN
▪ cough medicine/cough mixture/cough syrup (=liquid containing medicine for a cough)
You should take some cough medicine.
▪ a cough drop ( also a cough sweet British English ) (=a sweet you suck to make a cough less irritating)
He was sucking on a cough sweet.