Phlegm Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms phlegm American [flem] / flɛm /

noun

1. the thick mucus secreted in the respiratory passages and discharged through the mouth, especially that occurring in the lungs and throat passages, as during a cold.

2. one of the four elemental bodily humors of medieval physiology, regarded as causing sluggishness or apathy.

3. sluggishness, indifference, or apathy.

   Synonyms: impassiveness Antonyms: concern, animation

4. self-possession, calmness, or composure.

phlegm British / flɛm /

noun

1. the viscid mucus secreted by the walls of the respiratory tract

2. archaic one of the four bodily humours

3. apathy; stolidity; indifference

4. self-possession; imperturbability; coolness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 phlegm Scientific / flĕm /

1. Thick mucus produced by the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, as during a cold or other respiratory infection.

Other Word Forms

• phlegmless adjective
• phlegmy adjective

Etymology

Origin of phlegm

1350–1400; Middle English fleem < Middle French flemme < Late Latin phlegma < Greek phlégma flame, phlegmatic humor, equivalent to phlég ( ein ) to burn + -ma resultative noun suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It came out somewhere between a whisper and a wad of phlegm.

From Literature

Seth’s cough had become worse, and after an afternoon smoking fish he’d started to wheeze and spit out green phlegm, but the master did nothing about it.

From Literature

Or the way I decide it’s only polite to smile back, until the nun glares and clears the fatty phlegm from her throat.

From Literature

If it's a chesty cough then many find themselves battling what can feel like oceans of phlegm and a tight chest.

From BBC

In theory, each ingredient plays a role: one dries secretions, another loosens phlegm, a third dulls the cough reflex.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.