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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Example Sentences
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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
New England quarterback Drake Maye only had to throw nine times in the first two quarters, because the Panthers’ special teams unit essentially coughed up half of the Patriots’ field position in the matchup.
—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
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
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
New England quarterback Drake Maye only had to throw nine times in the first two quarters, because the Panthers’ special teams unit essentially coughed up half of the Patriots’ field position in the matchup.
—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
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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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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Jenner went with a cohesive look, pairing the light brown boots with a Fendi suit rendered in a rich chocolate hue.—
Kelsey Stewart,
Footwear News,
23 Oct. 2025
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That said, while each companion’s abilities bring something to the table, they get downed by enemies a lot, which renders their abilities unusable until they can be revived.—
Jason Fanelli,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Feeling the net tightening around him, Aydın surrendered to the Turkish consulate in São Paulo on July 1, 2020.—
Moisés Naím,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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Once babies are surrendered they are given immediate medical attention and taken to the hospital.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos delivered a historic 33-point fourth-quarter comeback to beat the New York Giants and extend their win streak to four games while moving into first place in the AFC West with a 5-2 mark.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
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These candidates, expected to seek approval by 2026, use a special technology designed to deliver RNA therapeutics directly to muscle tissue.—
Reuters,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cough%20up. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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