Pronunciation guide
How to pronounce cough
KAWF (US) or KOF (UK); the '-ough' here sounds like 'off'
US/kɔf/
kɔf
UK/kɒf/
kɒf
New to IPA symbols? Read the IPA guide.
What “cough” means
A sudden, often involuntary expulsion of air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth.
A bout of repeated coughing (verb etymology 1 sense 2.1); also, a medical condition that causes one to cough.
In a sentence
- Her cough was persistent, with a dry, hacking sound.
- A stubborn cough kept him home from work all week.
Definitions and examples are derived from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, then edited by QuickPronounce. Pronunciation data draws on CMUdict.