whooping cough Hear it!

whooping cough definition

whoop·ing cough (ho̵̅o̅′piŋ, hwo̵̅o̅′-; ho̵op′iŋ)

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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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