sneezing

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sneeze

(snēz)

intr.v. sneezed, sneez·ing, sneez·es

To expel air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.

An instance or the sound of sneezing.

Phrasal Verb:

sneeze at Informal

To treat as unimportant: These deficits are nothing to sneeze at.

[Middle English snesen, alteration of fnesen, from Old English fnēosan; see pneu- in Indo-European roots.]

sneez′er n.

sneez′y adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

sneezing - a symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose

sneeze, sternutation

inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, reflex action, reflex response, unconditioned reflex - an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus

symptom - (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease

Translations

sneezing

n → Niesen nt; sneezing fit → Niesanfall m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

For be it known, that, while other people, when sad and sorrowful, weep and wipe their eyes, Fire Eater, on the other hand, had the strange habit of sneezing each time he felt unhappy.

After sneezing, Fire Eater, ugly as ever, cried to Pinocchio:

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(During the ensuing scene, the carpenter continues sneezing at times).

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First, because I'm on the same side of the door as you are; secondly, because they're making such a noise inside, no one could possibly hear you.' And certainly there was a most extraordinary noise going on within--a constant howling and sneezing, and every now and then a great crash, as if a dish or kettle had been broken to pieces.

`There's certainly too much pepper in that soup!' Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing.

Even the Duchess sneezed occasionally; and as for the baby, it was sneezing and howling alternately without a moment's pause.

`IF I don't take this child away with me,' thought Alice, `they're sure to kill it in a day or two: wouldn't it be murder to leave it behind?' She said the last words out loud, and the little thing grunted in reply (it had left off sneezing by this time).

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Then she fell to backing away and sneezing, her nose bristling with quills like a monstrous pin- cushion.

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Vitus's Dance, fits, chronic cold accompanied by violent sneezing, or any disease necessitating involuntary motions, shall be instantly destroyed.

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As I sniffled my way through the show, our listeners got in touch with their sneezing triggers.

It was a sneeze filling in on Saturday morning radio show

Probably get flamed for this but I absolutely detest people sneezing openly in public.

Mum posts baffling rant slamming people for not 'sneezing internally'; People were perplexed by her claim that it's possible to hold sneezes in

Since cold and flu viruses are spread through droplets in the air, being careful when coughing and sneezing is imperative to avoid passing on whatever illnesses you have.