to hawk
4
8.9
- verb
- /hɔk/
- Informal
:
escupir flema
- He coughed, hawked, and spat something onto the rug.
- hawking up phlegm
- hawking and spitting
- hawked and spat
Examples
-
She was forever hawking up blood.
Fiction book (2002) -
She makes a hawking sound, and the two girls crack up.
Fiction book (2000) -
Narrator 1: Mark makes a hawking noise deep in his throat.
Fiction book (1998) -
Being indoors in ladies' company, he stomps outside to hawk and spit and does not come back.
Fiction book (1990) -
Narrator 2: As the two younger boys walk away, Mark makes a hawking noise and spits into the street.
Fiction book (1998) -
She hawked up morning phlegm and spat into the snow.
Fiction book (1992) -
Ahead, the old shaman bent into the wind, hawking to spit phlegm from his lungs.
Fiction book (1990) -
Staring at Shane as they pass, Charlie hawks and spits on the sidewalk.
Fiction book (1991) -
He waited a moment, again hawked, and this time spat into the firepit.
Fiction book (1992) -
Before running the race, he hawked up some phlegm to clear his throat.
Synonyms
315
1.0
To force liquid out of the mouth, often onto the ground
118
3.7
To make a short rough sound to remove mucus from the throat
To cough slightly to remove mucus from your throat or to get attention
Antonyms
Compounds
3
7.1
A medium-sized grey North American bird of prey that flies quickly through woods
- Slang
1
7.0
A player who often steals or catches the ball from the other team to help their team
- Specialized
1
8.6
A medium-sized North American bird of prey with reddish shoulders that lives in woods near water
- Specialized
A grey and white owl that hunts small mammals during the day in northern regions
- Specialized
A large Northern hawk with feathered legs that hunts small animals like mice
A large North American hunting bird with black and white feathers and a deeply forked tail
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Hawk (clear the throat) is a sound-word that copies the rough noise 'haw' you make when you clear your throat. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the harsh throat sound, which is why we say someone 'hawked' before speaking.