What does cough mean?
Word: Cough
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Cough means a sudden, noisy push of air out of your throat, often when you have a cold. To cough is to make that sound.
How do you spell cough?
Syllables: cough
Tricky part: The f sound at the end is spelt gh. Children write cof, with no gh at all.
Watch out for: cof, kough
Memory tip: Think of a rough cough. Both end in o-u-g-h, and in both the gh says f.
Idioms and Phrases
- cough up: to give money or something unwillingly Example: "My brother had to cough up his pocket money to pay for the broken glass."
Cough in a sentence
Example 1: Cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough.
Example 2: Nani made me warm ginger tea for my cough.
Example 3: Dust from the road made me cough.
Fun Fact
Honey in warm water is an old home remedy for a cough, but doctors say honey should not be given to babies under one year old.
Practise the CREST Way
Sound Check
Which of the following words rhymes with cough?
a) dough
b) off
c) cow
d) through
Show answer
b) off. Cough ends with an off sound, even though it is spelt ough.
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
The docter gave Rohan syrup for his bad cough and cold.
a) docter and syrup
b) only docter
c) cough and cold
d) only syrup
Show answer
b) only docter. Doctor ends in or, not er.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
The smoke from the bonfire made Grandpa ______ a lot.
a) cow
b) coach
c) couch
d) cough
Show answer
d) cough. Dust in the throat makes you cough.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
hgouc
a) a sharp sound made by clapping your hands
b) a loud, happy sound when something is funny
c) a quick, deep breath when you are sleepy
d) the sound you make to clear a tickly throat
Show answer
d) the sound you make to clear a tickly throat. Rearranged, hgouc becomes cough, the noise a tickly throat makes you give.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When you have a cold, a cough often comes with ___.
a) a sunburn
b) a runny nose
c) a sprained ankle
d) a loose tooth
Show answer
b) a runny nose
2. A cough syrup is a kind of ___.
a) medicine
b) milkshake
c) juice
d) sweet
Show answer
a) medicine
