Sneezing

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sneeze \Sneeze\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sneezed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Sneezing}.] [OE. snesen; of uncertain origin; cf. D. snuse
     to sniff, E. neese, and AS. fne['o]san.]
     To emit air, chiefly through the nose, audibly and violently,
     by a kind of involuntary convulsive force, occasioned by
     irritation of the inner membrane of the nose.


     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Not to be sneezed at}, not to be despised or contemned; not
        to be treated lightly. [Colloq.] "He had to do with old
        women who were not to be sneezed at." --Prof. Wilson.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sneezing \Sneez"ing\, n. (Physiol.)
     The act of violently forcing air out through the nasal
     passages while the cavity of the mouth is shut off from the
     pharynx by the approximation of the soft palate and the base
     of the tongue.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sneezing
       n : a symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air
           from the nose [syn: {sneeze}, {sternutation}]