whooping cough

noun

whoop·​ing cough ˈhü-piŋ- 

ˈhu̇-

: an infectious respiratory disease especially of children caused by a bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) and marked by a convulsive spasmodic cough sometimes followed by a crowing intake of breath

called also pertussis

Examples of whooping cough in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Tennessee, for example, requires hospitals to provide parents of newborns with information about pertussis, or whooping cough, and about the availability of a vaccine for pertussis, using information that’s in line with ACIP recommendations. —Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 30 June 2025

For them, news of measles outbreaks and rising whooping cough cases brings back terrible memories of lives forever changed — and a longing to spare others from similar pain. —Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2025

The bacteria that causes whooping cough spreads person-to-person through the air, specifically through coughs and sneezes, the CDC says. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 May 2025

But with anti-vaccine sentiment increasing and cuts to immunization services, vaccination rates for whooping cough over the past two years have declined in children. —Annette Regan, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for whooping cough

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff

Kids Definition

whooping cough

noun

: a disease especially of children that is caused by a bacterium and is marked by severe attacks of coughing often followed by a high-pitched gasping intake of breath

called also pertussis

Medical Definition

whooping cough

noun

: an infectious disease especially of children caused by a bacterium of the genus Bordetella (B. pertussis) and marked by a convulsive spasmodic cough sometimes followed by a crowing intake of breath

called also pertussis