What are the defining features of whooping cough, so i can tell it apart from other coughs?

The 'whoop': Whooping cough is diagnosed formally by testing for the bacterium that causes it. Most of us know it, however, from the funky cough it causes. After a bunch of coughing, there's a sharp inhalation of breath that sounds like 'whoooop'. The sound comes from air moving quickly through a swollen, narrowed airway. If you think you or someone you know has it, get to a doctor as soon as you can.