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

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

In a chaotic match when both sides kept coughing up possession, especially early in the second half, Miley was cool-headed and dependable on the ball. —Chris Waugh, 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

Lakers lost 128-106 to Pistons on LeBron’s 41st birthday as Detroit dominated the paint with 74 points while the Lakers coughed up 21 turnovers. —Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025

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