Noun

(en noun)

A piping or whistling sound caused by difficult respiration.

An ordinary whisper exaggerated so as to produce the hoarse sound known as the "stage whisper"; a forcible whisper with some admixture of tone.

(British, slang) An ulterior scheme or plan

* 2011 " Road rage; High petrol prices hurt, but will not throttle the economy", The Economist 19 November 2011:

The main point of fuel duty, though, is as a fiscal wheeze : it made up 5% of the tax take in 2010.

(slang) Something very humorous or laughable.

The new comedy is a wheeze .

You think you're going to win? That's a real wheeze !

Noun

(pathology) A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.

* 1954 , William Golding, Lord of the Flies

"He kind of spat," said Piggy. "My auntie wouldn't let me blow on account of my asthma . He said you blew from down here." Piggy laid a hand on his jutting abdomen.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}