Wheeze

//ʍiːz// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A piping or whistling sound caused by difficult respiration.
  2. 2
    breathing with a husky or whistling sound wordnet
  3. 3
    An ordinary whisper exaggerated so as to produce the hoarse sound known as the "stage whisper"; a forcible whisper with some admixture of tone.
  4. 4
    (Briticism) a clever or amusing scheme or trick wordnet
  5. 5
    An ulterior scheme or plan. British, Ireland, informal

    "Didn’t catch me napping that wheeze."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Something very humorous or laughable. slang

    "The new comedy is a wheeze."

  2. 7
    A sound that resembles a human wheezing.

    "At the same time I felt them fall over my brows — time to get a cut — the engine gave a final wheeze and died."

Verb
  1. 1
    To breathe hard, and with an audible piping or whistling sound, as persons affected with asthma.

    "If the air smelled even faintly of dog, Lionel coughed, wheezed and sneezed."

  2. 2
    breathe with difficulty wordnet
  3. 3
    To convulse with laughter; to become breathless due to intense laughing. slang

    "Mrs. Hearty began to shake and wheeze with laughter, and Millie stood looking at Bindle."

  4. 4
    To make a sound that resembles the sound of human wheezing.

    ""Even the fish know it; they don't rise to the bait any more and the birds are scared - hear how they wheeze and cry as they seek the land.""

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English whesen, perhaps from Old Norse hvæsa (“to hiss”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwes- (“to pant”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English whesen, perhaps from Old Norse hvæsa (“to hiss”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwes- (“to pant”).

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