wheezy

adjective

ˈ(h)wē-zē 

wheezier; wheeziest

1

: inclined to wheeze

2

: having a wheezing sound

a wheezy cough

the wheezy call of a phoebe

wheezily

ˈ(h)wē-zə-lē 

adverb

wheeziness

ˈ(h)wē-zē-nəs 

noun

Examples of wheezy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her breathing grew strained and wheezy. — Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026

The black exotic shorthair, a wheezy female with a squashed face and soulful orange eyes, is named for Owens, says his partner, Brittany Means, whose tweet about Jeff and Baby Jeff went viral this past spring. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2022

While these viruses can mimic one another in symptoms, typically COVID-19 tends to be a dryer respiratory infection than RSV, which tends to produce wheezy coughing. — Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Oct. 2022

Rebecca Mead reports on the strangeness and abandon of spring break, and Colin Stokes provides a wheezy guide to allergy season. — The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2022

Eventually Diana makes her way to the compound, late, gumming up the works of the wheezy old machine of the House of Windsor. — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 3 Nov. 2021

Less expensive small pickups exist in the marketplace, but many are not as well equipped or limit you to a wheezy four-cylinder engine—or, in the case of the also-new Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, are unibody SUVs with cargo beds. — Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, 10 Aug. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wheezy

• breezy
• cheesy
• easy
• queasy
• sleazy
• marchese
• speakeasy
• uneasy

Kids Definition

wheezy

adjective

ˈhwē-zē 

ˈwē-

wheezier; wheeziest

1

: tending to wheeze

a wheezy infant

2

: making or having the sound of wheezing

a wheezy cough

wheezy old cars