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.
Currently, either team could expect to cough up two top-15 prospects for Valdez. Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025 First there was the Dec. 21 121-114 loss in Orlando, when the Heat coughed up what stood as a 22-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025 New York owned an 18-0 record against the bottom-four seeds in either the Eastern or Western Conference before coughing up what should have been a gimme victory in San Antonio. Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025 Spurs will always cough up chances and Liverpool’s attack should be licking their lips. Andy Jones, The Athletic, 18 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cough%20up. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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