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
Swayman, playing his first game of the preseason, coughed up the puck behind the net to Bobby Brink, who got it to Tyson Foerster.
—
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cough up
Verb
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Prior to his takeover, the sister pageants suffered some shakeups, most notably after the 2023 adult and junior winners, Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastav, relinquished their titles.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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This incident comes just days after Prince Andrew relinquished his remaining royal titles.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For the monks or clerics, it is presented as a material substance, carried like a sack of gold on the demon’s back; the metaphors used are monetary or economic, as though the monks owe ordered syllables to God instead of the monetary tithe their vows of poverty render unnecessary.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
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Black can then be found on the tongue and laces, while the midsole is rendered in off-white.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Shohei Ohtani, who had started the game on short rest and surrendered a three-run blast to Bo Bichette that put the Dodgers in a hole, hacked at a first-pitch cutter inside that Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base handled easily.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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The Panthers took the lead again in the third period — courtesy of Sam Bennett’s second goal of the season — only to surrender it again on a Mikko Rantanen one-timer with 141 seconds left in regulation.—
Adam H. Beasley,
Miami Herald,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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At the top of the 11th, catcher Will Smith delivered the decisive winning run.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
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In disputed territories, the drone’s ability to deliver real-time monitoring and rapid response capabilities could give operators a significant tactical advantage, reinforcing control over contested zones, the South China Morning Post writes.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cough%20up. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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