Definition of "hacking cough" [hacking cough]

• A small and frequent cough, usually short and dry; a broken cough with a rough and loud sound; a hacking cough. (noun)

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• "You have a dry, hacking cough — the sort Mr. — er — Haythorne so aptly described."
• "He gets a dry, hacking cough as the dead tissue sloughs away, and dies the following summer of pneumonia, wondering what it's all about."