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# cough

verb (cough, coughs, coughed, coughing); noun (a cough, coughs)

«cough» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To cough is to push air out of your lungs suddenly with a loud noise, often because something is in your throat or you are ill. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#m1)
2. A cough is this action or sound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#m2)
3. A cough is an illness that makes you cough a lot. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#m3)
4. A machine or engine coughs when it makes a rough sound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#m4)

### In the lessons

In health and hygiene lessons, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow, throw the tissue away and wash your hands, so germs do not spread. A cough is the body clearing the airways. A cough that lasts weeks or comes with trouble breathing needs a doctor. Phrases: cough and sneeze, catch it in your elbow, a bad cough, cough medicine, cough up (pay or give, informal), whooping cough.

### Examples

- Cover your mouth when you cough. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x1)
- I've had a cough all week. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x2)
- The smoke made us cough. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x3)
- The doctor gave me cough medicine. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x4)
- He coughed politely to get our attention. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x5)
- The old car coughed and stopped. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x6)
- Come on, cough up the money you owe! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x7)
- It was NOVEMBER, who coughed violently as he got out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/#x8)

### Note

Pronounced "koff" — the "-ough" spelling is tricky (compare tough, through, though, dough). If someone is choking and cannot cough or breathe, it is an emergency; get an adult immediately.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cough» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cough/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cough» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cough.html) on Mova free.