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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cough up
Weathers has coughed up multiple homers in five of his 13 starts this season, but big flies have been particularly problematic for him over his last three games.
—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
Tony appealed to the state to force the county to cough up more money.
—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
The Knicks coughed up the ball 13 times, sometimes unforced.
—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Miguel Rojas moved from second base to third then to the mound in the ninth inning and coughed up home runs to both Brett Sullivan and Kyle Karros.
—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
Tony appealed to the state to force the county to cough up more money.
—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
The Knicks coughed up the ball 13 times, sometimes unforced.
—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Miguel Rojas moved from second base to third then to the mound in the ninth inning and coughed up home runs to both Brett Sullivan and Kyle Karros.
—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cough up
Verb
-
But for Iran, reopening the strait does not mean relinquishing control of it.
-
Neusch relinquished fire control to the bio-andy’s tactical routines.
Verb
-
Issues like slow image rendering on mobile devices or videos failing to auto-crop correctly—such as losing the subject when switching between portrait and landscape views—are often perceived as minor.
-
Faux snakeskin takes the place of the woven Kevlar panel that usually defines the model, while the long mudguard beneath is rendered in black nubuck.
Verb
-
Called up from Triple-A Syracuse to start Friday’s game, Thornton surrendered three consecutive hits before recording an out.
-
The Royals surrendered runs in abundance against the upstart White Sox lineup.
Verb
-
To sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox, click here.
-
Daniel takes advantage of this momentary distraction to deliver a left hook, right punch to the gut, asking Lestat about his maker, Magnus (Damien Atkins).
Cite this Entry
“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cough%20up. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
