HICCUP

Hiccup

A hiccup is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. In medicine it is known as synchronous diaphragmatic flutter, or singultus, Latin for the act of catching one's breath while sobbing. The hiccup is an involuntary action involving a reflex arc. Once triggered, the reflex causes a strong contraction of the diaphragm followed about 0.25 seconds later by closure of the vocal cords, which results in the classic "hic" sound. At the same time, the normal peristalsis of the esophagus is suppressed.

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hiccup

Noun

  1. A spasm of the diaphragm, or the resulting sound.
    There was a loud hiccup from the back of the room and the class erupted in laughter.
  2. A minor setback.
    There's been a slight hiccup in the processing of this quarter's results

Verb

  1. To have the hiccups.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: hiccup
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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