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

Josh Giddey, the primary facilitator, coughed up five turnovers against six assists and struggled to progress the ball past midcourt. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

He was sacked five times by Florida and coughed up the game-clinching fumble before the Gators ran out the clock. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

To start the second half, Hoover found Davion Chandler for a quick slant, but Chandler fumbled, the first time the Hoosiers had coughed up the ball in 1,437 plays. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

In those who do have symptoms, however, the most common are related to the lungs, including a persistent cough, shortness of breath or coughing up blood. — Angelica Stabile , Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 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