cough
/kɒf/ (bre, ipa) · /kɔːf/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈkȯf/ (ame, mw) · /kɑːf/ (ame, ipa)
cough — verb
1. when you cough, your body suddenly pushes air up from your chest and out through
when you cough, your body suddenly pushes air up from your chest and out through your mouth, producing a short sharp noise; this often happens because you are ill, smoke is in the air, or something is blocking your throat
Inês coughed loudly during the concert and quickly covered her mouth.
intransitive + manner adverb
The smoke from the fire made Lakshmi cough for several minutes.
cause + make someone + infinitive (without to)
Wei could not stop coughing after his morning run in the cold park.
The doctor asked Dewi to cough so she could check her breathing.
Isabela coughed when the dusty book fell open in her face.
- hack
a rough, dry, repeated cough; more informal and implies a harsh sound
- clear one's throat
a gentler action done on purpose to get attention or prepare to speak, not a real cough
- wheeze
breathing with a whistling sound; more about difficulty breathing than a sudden cough
文法句型
cough
cough + adverb
cough up + noun
用法筆記
Usually intransitive. The transitive form appears almost only with 'up' — for example, 'cough up blood' or 'cough up phlegm.'
常見錯誤
2. if an engine or a machine coughs, it makes a sudden rough sound that suggests it
if an engine or a machine coughs, it makes a sudden rough sound that suggests it has a problem or is about to stop
The old van's engine coughed loudly before it finally stopped.
engine + coughed + before + stopped — sequence pattern
Tamar heard the generator cough and then the lights went off.
The lawnmower coughed twice as Kian tried to start it again.
Élise's motorcycle coughed and died at the traffic light.
文法句型
engine + coughs
engine + coughed + and + stopped/died
用法筆記
Describes a repeated rough noise from an engine that is struggling, often followed by the engine stopping completely. The sound is compared to a human cough because of its short, explosive quality.
cough — noun
1. the action of pushing air out of your lungs through your mouth with a short loud
the action of pushing air out of your lungs through your mouth with a short loud sound, or the sound that this action makes
A loud cough from the back row made everyone turn around.
loud cough — adjective + noun collocation
Amelia gave a small cough to get the waiter's attention.
give a cough — light verb construction
We heard a dry cough coming from behind the closed door.
The only sound in the silent room was a single cough.
文法句型
a + adjective + cough
give a cough
hear a cough
用法筆記
Can refer either to the action itself ('she gave a cough to warn him') or to the sound produced ('I heard a cough in the hallway'). The light verb 'give' is very common with this sense.
常見錯誤
2. a medical condition, often caused by a cold or infection, in which a person coug
a medical condition, often caused by a cold or infection, in which a person coughs many times over a period of days or weeks
Femi has had a bad cough for more than two weeks now.
have a (bad) cough — most common pattern
The doctor gave Stephanie some medicine for her dry cough.
medicine for a cough — preposition collocation
The child's cough kept both parents awake all night long.
A dry cough like this one can take weeks to go away.
- cold
a viral infection that includes coughing, but also sneezing, a runny nose, and sore throat
文法句型
have a cough
a + adjective + cough (illness)
cough + lasts / goes away
用法筆記
Countable noun, usually with an article: 'a cough,' 'the cough.' To talk about the symptom in general rather than a specific illness episode, use the verb form or the uncountable 'coughing' ('Coughing keeps me awake at night' instead of 'a cough keeps me awake at night').