Cough

[kawf, kof] /kɔf, kɒf/

verb (used without object)
1.
to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a harsh noise, often involuntarily.
2.
(of an internal-combustion engine) to make a similar noise as a result of the failure of one or more cylinders to fire in sequence.
3.
to make a similar sound, as a machine gun firing in spurts.
verb (used with object)
4.
to expel by coughing (usually followed by up or out):
to cough up phlegm.
noun
5.
the act or sound of coughing.
6.
an illness characterized by frequent coughing.
7.
a sound similar to a cough, a machine gun, or an engine firing improperly.
Verb phrases
8.
cough up, Slang.

/kɒf/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to expel air or solid matter from the lungs abruptly and explosively through the partially closed vocal chords
2.
(intransitive) to make a sound similar to this
3.
(transitive) to utter or express with a cough or coughs
4.
(intransitive) (slang) to confess to a crime
noun
5.
an act, instance, or sound of coughing
6.
a condition of the lungs or throat that causes frequent coughing
v.

early 14c., coughen, probably in Old English, but not recorded, from Proto-Germanic *kokh- (with the rough “kh” of German or of Scottish loch; cf. Middle Dutch kochen, Middle High German kuchen). Onomatopoeic. Related: Coughed; coughing. As a noun from c.1300.

cough (kôf)
v. coughed, cough·ing, coughs
To expel air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material. n.

cough
(kôf, kŏf)
The act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material.