as in relinquished
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 coughed up
Brooklyn struggled to generate anything clean, coughed up seven turnovers that led to 14 Clippers points, and shot just 37% from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first half.
—
C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
The ball was coughed up by Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright, and the Patriots took over possession at the Dolphins’ 37-yard line.
—Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026
The Cardinals coughed up a 21-3 lead and gave up 16 fourth-quarter points against the hapless Titans.
—Doug Haller, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Lakers lost 128-106 to Pistons on LeBron’s 41st birthday as Detroit dominated the paint with 74 points while the Lakers coughed up 21 turnovers.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
And the unit as a whole coughed up two giveaways that led to 14 points for the opposition.
—Charlotte Observer, 29 Dec. 2025
Robinson even coughed up a fumble in the red zone.
—Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Roberts pulled the Japanese pitcher, bringing in Blake Treinen and Scott, who were unable to get a single out and coughed up the lead that was 4-0 entering the inning.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Patriots recover Rohan Nadkarni The Bills just coughed up the ball for the second time tonight, and this time the Patriots recovered in the red zone.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 6 Oct. 2025
C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
The ball was coughed up by Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright, and the Patriots took over possession at the Dolphins’ 37-yard line.
—Doug Kyed, Hartford Courant, 5 Jan. 2026
The Cardinals coughed up a 21-3 lead and gave up 16 fourth-quarter points against the hapless Titans.
—Doug Haller, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Lakers lost 128-106 to Pistons on LeBron’s 41st birthday as Detroit dominated the paint with 74 points while the Lakers coughed up 21 turnovers.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
And the unit as a whole coughed up two giveaways that led to 14 points for the opposition.
—Charlotte Observer, 29 Dec. 2025
Robinson even coughed up a fumble in the red zone.
—Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Roberts pulled the Japanese pitcher, bringing in Blake Treinen and Scott, who were unable to get a single out and coughed up the lead that was 4-0 entering the inning.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Patriots recover Rohan Nadkarni The Bills just coughed up the ball for the second time tonight, and this time the Patriots recovered in the red zone.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughed up
Verb
-
Jakrajutatip also relinquished her roles at the Miss Universe Organization.—
Theresa Braine,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Meanwhile, 81 animals have already been relinquished and are expected to become available for adoption through Sammie’s Friends at the Nevada County Animal Shelter once medically cleared.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Majumdar’s characters’ choices would carry greater weight if the conditions constraining them were rendered with equal depth.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
-
However, the on-screen star rendered her bob era no more shortly after the film wrapped.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Eventually, his parents surrendered to his passion for figure skating.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, the offense has surrendered just 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Their study suggests that slow, orderly streams of cool gas already inside the galaxy—or delivered by interactions with nearby galaxies—may be quietly feeding central black holes, allowing those black holes to gently shut down star formation without blowing the galaxy apart.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors turned over screenshots of the messages to the defense earlier this week.—
James Hill,
ABC News,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Once it is completed, it will be turned over to the city’s parks and recreation department.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Sophomore guard Dhewa Tenzin turned in a terrific performance off the bench with 16 points Tuesday, while senior guard Duke Cherry dropped 11 points to go with five assists as the Lancers coasted to an impressive 78-46 rout of Catholic Conference rival Xaverian at home.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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This isn’t the first time a Geek Squad employee has turned in a child pornography suspect in the East Bay.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Hamas has handed over the remains of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier who was killed in 2014 and his body held as a bargaining chip for over 4,000 days, Israel confirmed Sunday.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
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The latest transfer comes after Hamas handed over the bodies of three deceased hostages on Sunday.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coughed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughed%20up. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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