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

Synonyms

• cede
• deliver
• give up
• hand over
• lay down
• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• turn in
• turn over
• yield

Examples of cough up in a Sentence

finally got my brother to cough up the dough he owed me

Recent Examples on the Web

The encouraging thing for Maryland was that the Cornhuskers coughed up the ball 10 times, which led to 11 points for the Terps. —Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2025

Seek emergency medical attention if your breathlessness is sudden or severe or is accompanied by chest pain, fever, or coughing up pink-tinged phlegm. —Soma Mandal, Verywell Health, 4 Feb. 2025

Tuberculosis symptoms include a range of respiratory conditions, including a bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer, pain in the chest and coughing up blood or phlegm, according to the CDC. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025

Signs and symptoms include a cough that lasts for three weeks or longer, coughing up blood or phlegm, chest pain, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, chills and night sweats, according to the CDC. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1