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

Vaccines are the best protection against whooping cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. —Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024

The percentage of children being immunized through the country’s routine vaccination program has fallen over the past decade across all illnesses, including whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, meningitis and diphtheria. —Megan Specia, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024

Phase one - For a week or two, whooping cough presents as a cold. —Emilee Coblentz, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2024

After California’s 2010 outbreak of whooping cough (pertussis) — 9,120 cases, the most since 1947, the majority among unvaccinated children — the Legislature eliminated almost all non-medical exemptions for childhood immunization. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2023

School officials focused on students in pre-K3, kindergarten, seventh and 11th grades, points at which students are supposed to have certain vaccines — including chickenpox and tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. —Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023

In Suffolk County, located on New York's Long Island, cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, have been increasing. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Jan. 2024

For more information about whooping cough and ongoing vaccination clinics, call the county’s Immunization Branch at [phone] or visit sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/immunization_branch.html. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2023

The city was also preparing to impose a long-standing — but rarely enforced — law that requires students to get routine shots against illnesses such as measles, polio and whooping cough. —Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined above

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