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 of cough up

• relinquish
• render
• surrender
• deliver

Examples of cough up in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Brooklyn struggled to generate anything clean, coughed up seven turnovers that led to 14 Clippers points, and shot just 37% from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first half. —C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026

Herbert, who threw four interceptions in his last postseason appearance, fumbled five times after only coughing up the ball twice in his first 12 games this season. —Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026

The Cardinals coughed up a 21-3 lead and gave up 16 fourth-quarter points against the hapless Titans. —Doug Haller, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026

The ball was coughed up by Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright, and the Patriots took over possession at the Dolphins’ 37-yard line. —Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cough up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup