wheeze Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun breathing with a husky or whistling sound
  2. noun (Briticism) a clever or amusing scheme or trick
    • a clever wheeze probably succeeded in neutralizing the German espionage threat
  3. verb breathe with difficulty

WordNet

Wheeze intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. whesen, AS. hwsan (cf. Icel. hvæsa to hiss, Sw. hväsa, Dan. hvæse); akin to AS. hwsta a cough, D. hoest, G. husten, OHG. huosto, Icel. hsti, Lith. kosti to cough, Skr. ks. Cf. Husky hoarse.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Wheezed ; present participle & verbal noun Wheezing
Definitions
  1. To breathe hard, and with an audible piping or whistling sound, as persons affected with asthma. "Wheezing lungs." Shak.
Wheeze noun
Definitions
  1. A piping or whistling sound caused by difficult respiration.
  2. (Phon.) An ordinary whisper exaggerated so as to produce the hoarse sound known as the "stage whisper." It is a forcible whisper with some admixture of tone.

Webster 1913