How to Use cough in a Sentence

cough

1 of 2 verb
  • The dust made him cough.
  • The engine coughed and sputtered and then stopped.
  • She was coughing and sneezing all day.
  • The bullpen coughed that up, too.
    — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 24 June 2026
  • Even the hoses in our yard coughed and went dry.
    — Jonathan Taplin, Rolling Stone, 7 Jan. 2026
  • In the midst of the prayer, Katy coughed.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Davis coughed blood the entire way.
    — Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Co-workers coughed from the fumes.
    — Matthew Kish, ProPublica, 30 Jan. 2026
  • To show that this group knows how to win close games rather than cough them up.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Each time the tear gas seeped in, the kids coughed, and their throats often burned.
    — Lisa Song, ProPublica, 7 May 2026
  • Oladokun managed just 58 yards and coughed the ball up twice.
    — Kansas City Star, 5 Jan. 2026
  • The airborne virus can spread when someone coughs or sneezes.
    — Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026
  • The airborne virus can spread when someone coughs or sneezes.
    — Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Buddy strained against his leash and seemed to cough a little.
    — Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Father spent the night coughing as well.
    — Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2025
  • Soon came the sound of profuse coughing.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Vic mumbled, coughing sleep from his throat.
    — Bryan Washington, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2025
  • There’s quite a bit of coughing in New York.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The pope sounded short of breath, coughed at one point and appeared in poor health.
    — Claudio Lavanga, NBC News, 27 Nov. 2023
  • Why stop with the right to cough on strangers in a public place and give them a disease?
    — Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 6 Dec. 2021
  • This disease is not spread in the air or by coughing or sneezing.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Some people cough while eating.
    — Sundeep Venkatesan, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
  • One woman went as far as to cough in the other’s face during the brawl.
    — Gabrielle Russon, orlandosentinel.com, 30 Dec. 2020
  • Mature man in pain coughing on sofa at home.
    — Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Teach them to cough and sneeze into their elbows rather than into their hands.
    — New York Times, 26 Feb. 2021
  • Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
    — Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Watch for symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.
    — Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Again, the food was sitting out for a while, and who knows who might have been coughing on it.
    — Sheah Rarback, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
  • The boy was coughing and struggling to breathe, the complaint says.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 5 Dec. 2023
  • Well, not coughing, more like throwing up, or trying to throw up.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 29 July 2023

cough

2 of 2 noun
  • I heard a cough from the back of the church.
  • He has a cough and a cold.
  • They both have bad coughs.
  • The fake cough is a nice touch.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Kelce made a — cough, cough — splash that night.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Trying to kill laughs with coughs!
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 18 May 2026
  • Don’t bring a cough home as a souvenir.
    — Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Maybe the fan in question has caught a cough.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Honey may help soothe a sore throat and cough.
    — Mark Gurarie, Health, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Got a runny nose, cough or maybe even a fever?
    — Hali Smith march 5, Idaho Statesman, 5 Mar. 2026
  • The virus can cause a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes.
    — Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye and cold symptoms.
    — Andrew Jones, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye, and cold symptoms.
    — Andrew Jones, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Both had a fever, a cough, a rash, pink eye, and cold symptoms.
    — Andrew Jones, Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Strep is known for its very sore throat without a cough, but with a fever.
    — Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 25 Feb. 2026
  • A little cough took him to the doctor.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Our live blog is still going strong with every cough and spit.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
  • The laughs here are as dry as a cough post-bronchitis.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
  • Breathing treatments and steam help lessen the cough.
    — Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 25 Feb. 2026
  • He was wracked by a wicked cough, no doubt caused by his constant smoking.
    — Kim Gordon, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The viruses spread through tiny droplets made when people with the flu cough, sneeze or talk.
    — Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 31 Dec. 2025
  • The ball did not have a cough in Sunday’s game against Napoli.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Instead of using your hands, bend your arm and sneeze or cough into it.
    — Hunter Boyce, AJC.com, 2 Mar. 2026
  • And a chronic cough is one that persists longer than 12 weeks.
    — The Conversation, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2023
  • In other words, cough pearls numb your airways to calm the cough reflex.
    — Ayana Underwood, SELF, 7 Feb. 2024
  • Months can pass between the first breath of bacteria and the first cough.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Jan. 2026
  • Those enveloped by smoke frequently cough and gasp for air.
    — Michele Heisler, The Conversation, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Symptoms include a bad cough, chest pain, and coughing up blood.
    — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
    — Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cough.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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