noun
phlegm
FLEM/flem/
Thick mucus from the breathing passages.
She coughs up thick phlegm when she has a cold.
Etymology
Greek phlegma meant inflammation or heat, and also a clammy bodily humor thought to be caused by heat. That bodily-fluid sense connects the fiery original meaning to thick mucus.
In context
Or take phlegm, it makes you think of that thick grossness in your throat when you're sick.
And that's when he spat. The man in the T-shirt. It was a proper one. A big ball of phlegm.
More examples
- He spits the phlegm into a tissue.
- The nurse asks whether there is blood in the phlegm.
- My cough brings up less phlegm today.
Forms
phlegmy adjective — Containing or producing thick respiratory mucus.