Whooping cough is a serious infectious disease which causes people to cough and make a loud noise when they breathe in.
whooping cough in British English
(ˈhuːpɪŋ)
noun
an acute infectious disease characterized by coughing spasms that end with a shrill crowing sound on inspiration: caused by infection with the bacillus Bordetella pertussis
Technical name: pertussis. Also called: chincough
whooping cough in American English
(ˈhupɪŋ; ˈhwupɪŋ; ˈhʊpɪŋ)
an acute infectious disease, usually affecting children, caused by a bacillus (Bordetella pertussis) and characterized by a mucous discharge from the nose and later by repeated attacks of coughing that end in a forced intake of breath, or whoop
Examples of 'whooping cough' in a sentence
whooping cough
Whooping cough is highly infectious and potentially deadly.