Definition of "hiccup" []

• A spasm of the diaphragm resulting in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that is stopped by the sudden closure of the glottis and accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound. (noun)
• An attack of these spasms. Often used with the. (noun)
• The sound made by such a spasm or a sound resembling it: "the urgent hiccup of a police siren” ( John Updike). (noun)
• To make a hiccup or a sound like a hiccup. (verb-intransitive)
• To have an attack of hiccups. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A good brain hiccup or an overly playful mind could come up with a phrase like that."
• "We can NOT predict if there will be adeep or just a short term hiccup in the market."
• ""A short-term hiccup should not suffice," Genesco's counsel,"