as in to relinquish
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress
finally got my brother to cough up the dough he owed me
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Recent Examples of cough up
Again, special teams blunders set the defense up in poor position, but the defense ultimately coughed up big gains on the ground.
—
Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
Newborns and frail older people often have a hard time coughing up the mucus, Hopkins says.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
Investors reacted by bidding shares of Pfizer higher in Monday morning trading, an atypical reaction to when a company is coughing up a big chunk of dough for an acquisition.
—John Melloy, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2025
Per The New York Times, he was diagnosed with the illness after coughing up blood onto his piano.
—Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
Newborns and frail older people often have a hard time coughing up the mucus, Hopkins says.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
Investors reacted by bidding shares of Pfizer higher in Monday morning trading, an atypical reaction to when a company is coughing up a big chunk of dough for an acquisition.
—John Melloy, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2025
Per The New York Times, he was diagnosed with the illness after coughing up blood onto his piano.
—Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cough up
Verb
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Bring the Paine The only thing Paine liked less than monarchical rule was its enablers, anyone who relinquished their freedom willingly to an aspiring tyrant.—
Matthew Redmond,
The Conversation,
9 Oct. 2025
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The park’s quiet debut brings to fruition what was envisioned in October 2021, when the city of San Diego relinquished its rights to lease the block from IQHQ and instead entered into a contractual arrangement with the company for a 96-year term.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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False or deceptive votes and/or acts will render the respective Finalist ineligible.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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If enough satellites are in orbit, this debris could set off a chain reaction, rendering the environment around Earth practically impassable.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a recent speech, Kim urged Washington to drop its demand for the North to surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
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The 82 total yards the Broncos surrendered Sunday?—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
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In March 2025, released hostages delivered a sign of life from him to his family.—
Itay Stern,
NPR,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cough%20up. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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