sough

verb

ˈsau̇ How to pronounce sough (audio)
Definition of soughnext
as in to sigh
to take in and let out a deep audible breath or to make a similar sound all night long the patient was soughing in her sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sough The company joins others in the restaurant industry that have fallen on rough times and sough bankruptcy protection, including Razzoo’s and Bar Louie. — Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026 Although the foundations of rooms remained, like lines of an architectural drawing expressed by pebbles laid end to end, only the chimney still loomed against that hill of dead leaves and leafless trees, while traffic soughed indifferently below. — William T. Vollmann, Harper's Magazine, 24 June 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sough
  1. sigh
  2. breathe
Verb
  • The blunderbuss of violations of the basic decorum and dignity of democracy have become such a daily matter that the increasingly familiar response is to sigh and surrender.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • When football fans saw three straight Primetime games on the NFL schedule for the Atlanta Falcons, there were some social media eye rolls, sighs and more, and who could blame them?
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of sigh
Verb
  • The rooms With just 17 airy and spacious rooms, the Sea Ranch gives every guest plenty of room to breathe, and the interiors are laid out to make every breath a meditative one.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026
  • During REM sleep, one of the periods of rest when dreams are most likely, the brainstem paralyzes the body’s muscles, except, of course, those that move our eyes and keep us breathing.
    — RJ Mackenzie, Popular Science, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of breathe

Browse Nearby Words

soubrettes
sough
soughed
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Cite this Entry

“Sough.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sough. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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