wheeze

American  

[hweez, weez] / ʰwiz, wiz /

verb (used without object)

wheezed, wheezing

1. to breathe with difficulty and with a whistling sound.

   Asthma caused him to wheeze.

2. to make a sound resembling difficult breathing.

   The old locomotive wheezed into the station.

---

noun

1. a wheezing breath or sound.

2. an old and frequently used joke, saying, story, etc.

wheeze British  

/ wiːz /

verb

1. to breathe or utter (something) with a rasping or whistling sound

2. (intr) to make or move with a noise suggestive of wheezy breathing

---

noun

1. a husky, rasping, or whistling sound or breathing

2. slang a trick, idea, or plan (esp in the phrase good wheeze )

3. informal a hackneyed joke or anecdote

Other Word Forms

• wheezer noun
• wheezily adverb
• wheeziness noun
• wheezingly adverb
• wheezy adjective

Etymology

Origin of wheeze

1425–75; late Middle English whese (v.), probably < Old Norse hvæsa to hiss

Example Sentences

Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze.

From Los Angeles Times

Every little sound, Mary’s wheeze, the scrape of the secret panel, made me want to shriek.

From Literature

Karli was breathless now, stumbling ever more often, wheezing and coughing almost constantly.

From Literature

He wheezed and he groaned and he grunted, but he finally made it.

From Literature

Seth’s cough had become worse, and after an afternoon smoking fish he’d started to wheeze and spit out green phlegm, but the master did nothing about it.

From Literature

Related Words

• cough
• gasp
• hiss
• puff
• snore