pony up

verb

ponied up; ponying up; ponies up

transitive verb

: to pay (money) especially in settlement of an account

intransitive verb

: pay

Synonyms of pony up

• pay
• pay off
• spring (for)
• meet

Examples of pony up in a Sentence

despite having good credit, the couple still had to pony up a large down payment for the house

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, school board members have placed two advisory questions on the November ballot aimed at putting pressure on city and state officials to pony up. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026

Under that plan, all of the 13 campuses in the system would freeze tuition for two years, provided the state ponies up $190 million in new support. — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

In an even more unusual move (beyond flying cars), Florida appears to plan to pony up the matching half of the federal grant from its own coffers, rather than allowing private companies to pay, like other states have done for their EV chargers. — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026

And even better, fans can pony up some bread of their own to get one too. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for pony up

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