Wiktionary:Word of the day/2024/April 5

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cough v

(transitive) Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth. To cause (oneself or something) to be in a certain condition in the manner described in sense 1.1. To express (words, etc.) in the manner describe in sense 1.1. (figurative) To surrender (information); to confess. (originally US, slang) Chiefly followed by up: to give up or hand over (something); especially, to pay up (money). (intransitive) To push air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound) and out through the mouth, usually to expel something blocking or irritating the airway. To make a noise like a cough. (originally US, slang) To surrender information; to confess, to spill the beans. cough n 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 sense 2.1); also, a medical condition that causes one to cough. (figurative) A noise or sound like a cough (sense 1). cough interj Used to represent the sound of a cough (noun sense 1), especially when focusing attention on a following utterance, often an attribution of blame or a euphemism: ahem. World Health Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to draw attention to global health issues, is on 7 April. It marks the founding of the World Health Organization on that day in 1948.

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