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

This can be helpful for those who don't have a ton of cash — or can't afford to cough up much for closing costs and fees in today's rising-cost market. —Aly J Yale, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026

Countries will have to cough up at least $1 billion in order to secure a permanent seat on the board, according to a draft charter, while other members will have three-year terms. —Chad De Guzman, Time, 19 Jan. 2026

That is almost double what spectators would have coughed up for entry into last year’s matchup, according to ticket-sales analyst Victory Resale. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2026

But the turning point came when the Wild coughed up the go-ahead goal with 7 1/2 seconds left in the second period, on an extremely sloppy shift that started with a poor line change and ended with Foligno and Jake Middleton losing battles behind the net. —Michael Russo, New York Times, 13 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