whooping cough whoop·ing cough (hōō'pĭng, hwōō'-, wōō'-, hup'ĭng)
n.
A highly contagious disease of the respiratory system, usually affecting children, that is caused by Bordetella pertussis and is marked in its advanced stage by spasms of coughing interspersed with deep, noisy inspirations. Also called pertussis.
An acute and infectious disease occurring mainly in children and characterized by violent coughing. Caused by a kind of bacteria, whooping cough has largely been eradicated in the United States through a program of vaccination, which is begun when infants are just three months old.