asthma

noun asth·ma \ ˈaz-mə , British ˈas- \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Definition of asthma

: a chronic lung disorder that is marked by recurring episodes of airway obstruction (as from bronchospasm) manifested by labored breathing accompanied especially by wheezing and coughing and by a sense of constriction in the chest, and that is triggered by hyperreactivity to various stimuli (such as allergens or rapid change in air temperature)

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asthmatic

play \az-ˈma-tik, British as-\ adjective or noun

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asthmatically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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Recent Examples of asthma from the Web

Froome, who was cleared of doping in an asthma drug case on Monday, was also jeered at Thursday's team presentations.

— andrew dampf, chicagotribune.com, "4-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome flies off the road into a ditch in opening stage," 7 July 2018
Froome, who was cleared of doping in an asthma-drug case on Monday, was also jeered at Thursday’s team presentations.

— New York Times, "Chris Froome Begins Tour de France in a Ditch," 7 July 2018
On Again, Off Again Chris Froome Drama: The Froome situation with the adverse analytical finding (the charge was abuse of asthma meds) reveals how broken the anti-doping systems are.

— marc peruzzi, Outside Online, "Lance Armstrong Takes on the Tour de France," 6 July 2018
Over the winter, news leaked that Froome had tested for an irregularly high level of the asthma drug salbutamol at last summer’s Vuelta a Espana race.

— jason gay, WSJ, "Ugh: Another Queasy Tour de France," 5 July 2018
This gene carries three possible conditions — allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies), atopic dermatitis and asthma.

— maureen langley, Post-Tribune, "Experts: Indiana's allergy season worse than usual this year," 3 July 2018
In one video, A Home for Louie, a 1-year-old hound that had been implanted with a lung device to study asthma plays fetch and cuddles with his new owner on the couch. The University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison is taking things further.

— david grimm, Science | AAAS, "‘A cataclysmic wake-up call’: Can more candor win back support for animal research?," 26 June 2018
Irritation in one's respiratory system and aggravated asthma can both be triggered by high ozone levels.

— kimberly rapanut, azcentral, "High pollution advisory in effect through Tuesday for Maricopa County," 25 June 2018
The agency estimates that asthma caused nearly 14 million missed school days in 2013.

— liz bowie, baltimoresun.com, "Nearly 1 in 5 Maryland students is chronically absent. At some schools, the rate is more than 75 percent.," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'asthma.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of asthma

Middle English asma, borrowed from Medieval Latin asma, asthma, borrowed from Greek ásthma "panting, shortness of breath, asthma (as a medical condition)," of uncertain origin

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First Known Use: 14th century

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