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
Symptoms of a blood clot include swelling, shortness of breath, coughing up blood and varicose vein changes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
—
Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
Denver held the Wolves to 105 points in a Game 1 win but coughed up a 19-point lead in Game 2.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
Treinen gave up four consecutive hits in the seventh inning, failed to retire a batter and coughed up a Dodger lead.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Her aim is to make enough money to afford the fifty-thousand-dollar wedding floral arrangements that Nate is reluctant to cough up the dough for.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
Denver held the Wolves to 105 points in a Game 1 win but coughed up a 19-point lead in Game 2.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
Treinen gave up four consecutive hits in the seventh inning, failed to retire a batter and coughed up a Dodger lead.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Apr. 2026
Her aim is to make enough money to afford the fifty-thousand-dollar wedding floral arrangements that Nate is reluctant to cough up the dough for.
—Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cough up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cough up
Verb
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There are outs not to be relinquished on the bases.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
15 May 2026
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Companies that violate the law could be forced to relinquish their earnings to a federal youth sports fund, from which the money would be used to reduce participation costs for families, provide scholarships and keep local sporting venues free for community use.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Verb
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The beautiful array of their divergent sizes and pelts coalesced as oils on canvas and rendered their exploits almost dreamlike.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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Nvidia’s GPUs, first developed in 1999 for rendering graphics on computers and gaming consoles, function by breaking complex computing problems into smaller tasks and resolving them simultaneously.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Verb
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No one ate up more innings than Klein, who struck out two and surrendered one of the two hits the Dodgers gave up across two innings.—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2026
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Brown again tossed four shutout innings, surrendering just one hit while walking one and striking out seven on 65 pitches.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Little Caesars Arena was as energetic as its been all season, and Detroit didn’t deliver, sending Pistons fans for an early exit.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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Hosted by Shania Twain, the award show delivered on emotional moments, fun surprises and plenty of performances.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cough%20up. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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