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- pronunciation:
- hu
pIng
kawf
[or]
hU
pIng
kawf
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
Whooping cough is a serious disease. When children get it, they can become very sick. Some children even die from whooping cough. Children with the disease have a terrible cough that makes it hard to breathe. Sometimes with the coughing, there is a noise when the child breathes in that sounds almost like the sound a chicken makes. Whooping cough is caused by a kind of bacteria, and it can easily spread from one person to another. Adults can get whooping cough, but usually they get only a mild case. Another name for whooping cough is "pertussis."
When Mrs. Shaw's sick baby started to make a strange sound while coughing, she got worried that he might have whooping cough. Then she took him to the doctor right away. |
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