What does hiccupped mean?
Hiccupped is the past tense and past participle of the verb “hiccup,” meaning to make a brief, involuntary sound in the throat. The sound is usually caused when the diaphragm contracts and the glottis closes, producing the characteristic “hic” that gives the word its name. Hiccupping can follow drinking too quickly, eating, laughing, or other sudden changes in breathing, although persistent hiccups may have other causes. In ordinary writing, the word is mainly used to report an event that has already happened: a person hiccupped, or a speaker had hiccupped before continuing. The form is especially noticeable in storytelling and comedy because an involuntary hiccup can interrupt speech or formal behaviour. British English normally spells it with two p’s, as in “hiccupped,” while American English commonly uses “hiccuped” with one. Hiccupped is a regular past-tense form and combines naturally with auxiliary verbs in constructions such as “has hiccupped” and “had hiccupped.”
verbThe past tense and past participle of “hiccup”: to make a short, involuntary sound in the throat, typically when a sudden intake of air interrupts breathing.
- To make the short, involuntary sound associated with a hiccup.
"She hiccupped halfway through her presentation and tried to continue speaking."
"He hiccupped after drinking too quickly."
"The audience burst into laughter when the speaker hiccupped."
A hiccup interrupts speech with its unmistakable “hic” sound—a tiny, uncontrollable punctuation mark.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hiccupped come from?
The verb derives from the noun “hiccup,” whose characteristic sound is imitative rather than traceable to a known ancient root. The base word has long been used in English in the form “hiccup,” with “hiccough” also appearing historically. The doubled consonant in the British past-tense form “hiccupped” follows standard English spelling rules for a short stressed vowel followed by a single final consonant.
Related word forms
How hiccupped is actually used
In British English, “hiccupped” is standard; “hiccuped” is the usual American spelling. As the past form of a regular verb, it takes “has” or “had” in the perfect and past perfect forms.