cough up

verb

coughed up; coughing up; coughs up

transitive verb

1
: hand over, deliver
cough up the money
2
: to lose possession of (a ball or puck) during a game
the quarterback coughed up the ball

Examples of cough up in a Sentence

finally got my brother to cough up the dough he owed me
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Against a Los Angeles Clippers team playing without nearly its entire rotation, the C’s coughed up a six-point lead in the final minute before hanging on to win in overtime. Zack Cox, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2025 As a guy, I’m fascinated by how something like this can take off — women are coughing up thousands and thousands of dollars for these things. Kin Woo, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025 And with Pedro Pascal's Oberyn Martell, the show coughed up its last truly memorable new character. EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025 The rats cough up the eggs from their lungs and then swallow them. Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cough up

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cough up was in 1890

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Cite this Entry

“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cough%20up. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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