English

Noun

hacking cough ‎(plural hacking coughs)

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

   A hacking cough is most commonly observed in chronic catarrh of the upper air-passages, in pharyngitis and laryngitis, and especially in beginning pulmonary tuberculosis; hence its importance.

References

• “hacking cough” at MacmillanDictionary.com
• Medical dictionaries at Google Books