A hiccup is a sudden, involuntary contraction (spasm) of the diaphragm muscle. When the muscle spasms, the vocal cords snap shut, producing the hiccup sound. A hiccup is actually two separate involuntary actions, not just one. First a muscle in the diaphragm spasms, which makes you inhale more air than you’d normally need. Then, the glottis, a flap of skin which blocks airway to the lung, closes immediately after—about 35 milliseconds after the mass inhalation. It’s that glottis closing that makes the “hiccup” sound.