whooping cough
/ˈhuːpɪŋ ˌkɒf/
"whooping-cough" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“whooping cough” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A contagious disease of the respiratory system that usually affects children caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, the advanced stage of which is characterised by spasms of coughing followe...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | whooping cough |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhuːpɪŋ ˌkɒf/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “whooping cough” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
whooping cough is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhuːpɪŋ ˌkɒf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A contagious disease of the respiratory system that usually affects children caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, the advanced stage of which is characterised by spasms of coughing followe...".
No misspelling variants are generated for whooping cough in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From whooping + cough, from the characteristic-sounding cough that is a major symptom. The correct English form is whooping cough, spelled W-H-O-O-P-I-N-G- -C-O-U-G-H.
Definition
- 1A contagious disease of the respiratory system that usually affects children caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, the advanced stage of which is characterised by spasms of coughing followed by a whooping sound during the intake of breath.
Etymology
From whooping + cough, from the characteristic-sounding cough that is a major symptom.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “whooping cough”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-H-O-O-P-I-N-G- -C-O-U-G-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhuːpɪŋ ˌkɒf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.