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to be sick

to be sick

109 1.7
To bring food or drink up from the stomach through the mouth
  • phrasal verb
  • /bi sɪk/
translation icon : vomitar
  • "I just did, Paul, and I'm trying hard not to be sick to my stomach."

Examples

  • It went from being sick kind of in the evening hours to being sick all day, all night.

  • Myrmeen felt as if she were going to be sick and forced down the mounting bile in her throat.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • I was going to be sick right there by the cash register.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I just feel like I'm gonna be sick.

  • I think I'm gonna be sick.

  • I'm just so tired of being sick.

  • I got the news that I was sick on the afternoon of my 39th birthday.

    Academic text (2007)
  • I thought Allison was going to be sick after that news.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The weekend that problems arose, she had been out for a Thai meal and was sick in the night.

    Academic text (2012)
  • After riding the roller coaster, I suddenly felt dizzy and thought I might be sick.

Synonyms

to throw up
vsto be sick
  • Informal
296 2.3

To push food and drink out of your stomach through your mouth

is the neutral, dictionary description of bringing up stomach contents
to puke
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
186 6.6

To bring food and drink up from your stomach when you feel sick

is the neutral term used in standard descriptions
to vomit
vsto be sick
148 1.0

To force food and drink up from your stomach through your mouth

is the neutral everyday action of bringing up stomach contents
to barf
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
38 7.7

To force food or liquid out of the stomach through the mouth

is the neutral, non-slang description suitable for general use
to retch
vsto be sick
9 7.2

To make a strong, uncontrolled effort to vomit, sometimes bringing up food from your stomach

is the general action of actually bringing the contents up
to cast
vsto be sick
  • Archaic
9 9.3

To throw up what is in the stomach

is the current neutral term used in everyday descriptions
to spew
vsto be sick
  • Informal
9 5.7

To forcefully throw up food and drink from your stomach

describes the same act but without stressing intensity or quantity
to puke up
vsto be sick
  • Informal
8 8.2

To bring food back out of your mouth because you feel sick

covers bringing up stomach contents generally, not just eaten food
to puke my guts out
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
7 9.9

Throw up violently many times because you feel sick or drink too much

is the neutral description without implying repeated violent episodes
to chuck
vsto be sick
  • UK
7 9.6

To be sick and bring food up from your stomach

is the neutral term preferred in formal or explanatory contexts
to regurgitate
vsto be sick
5 7.7

To bring food or liquid from the stomach back into the mouth

is the human bodily action of expelling stomach contents through the mouth
to ralph
vsto be sick
  • Slang
4 9.5

To force food or drink out of your mouth

remains a neutral, non-coarse description suitable for general use
to honk
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
4 9.3

To throw up when you feel sick

is the straightforward factual description without slang or humor
to upchuck
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
3 8.8

To throw up food and drink from your stomach

keeps the meaning neutral and avoids playful or comic tone
to vomit up
vsto be sick
  • Informal
3 3.6

Push food or drink from the stomach out through the mouth

focuses on the general act of bringing contents up rather than force
to sick
vsto be sick
1 7.4

To throw up

gives the same neutral description but as the head definition
to spue
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
1 9.9

To force something out of the mouth, like saliva or vomit

restricts meaning to stomach contents specifically rather than other material
to disgorge
vsto be sick
8.7

To push food or drink out of the mouth because you are sick

is the simple everyday description without formal or literary tone
to regorge
vsto be sick
9.9

To bring food from the stomach up through the mouth, often to feed young or when sick

is the basic action without the added image of pouring out
to puke guts out
vsto be sick
  • NSFW
9.2

To throw up a lot with great force

describes the act without implying extreme violence or repetition

How Sick

to vomit
148 1.0
to be sick
109 1.7
retch
1 8.4

Surface Forms

be sick infinitive
was sick past
been sick past participle
being sick present participle
is sick third person singular

Morphology

be + sick

The phrase is compositionally 'be' + 'sick' (to be in a state of illness), so a learner who knows the words will grasp a general idea of illness. However, the specific English use 'be sick' = 'vomit' is a narrower, partly idiomatic sense that is not fully predictable from 'be' + 'sick' and varies across languages, so it is only partially transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

The phrase be sick comes from the simple image of a person who feels ill and brings food up from their stomach. That's why be sick means 'to vomit'.