From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishphlegmphlegm /flem/ noun [uncountable] 1 HBHthe thick yellowish substance produced in your nose and throat, especially when you have a cold SYN mucus2 CALMunusual calmness in worrying, frightening, or exciting situations
Examples from the Corpus
phlegm• After gargling on her phlegm for a while, she began to choke.• An irritating cough producing very little phlegm and becoming worse when taking a deep breath.• My voice is like sandpaper, I cough up gobs of phlegm, my liver feels like a sandbag.• Kingsley rolled phlegm in his throat but remained with his head bowed.• He looked in the mirror and could see a gout of her smoker's phlegm on his cheek.Origin phlegm (1300-1400) Old French fleume, from Latin phlegma, from Greek, “flame, phlegm”, from phlegein “to burn” 