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
The Bruins coughed up a 2-0 first period lead to an also-ran New Jersey Devils and lost 4-3 in overtime.
—
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Other local politicians have also coughed up remarkably few text messages in response to public records requests.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026
The Wolverines coughed up 14 total turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Gophers, and that helped Minnesota keep it closer.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2026
The last time these teams met, the Miami Heat coughed up a 19-point lead in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
Even taking into account the buy-out clauses Abramovich paid Porto to hire Villas-Boas and Clearlake and its partners coughed up for Brighton’s Graham Potter, coaches do not cost anywhere near as much as players.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The true nature of Colby’s identity and place in the community, however, is coughed up late into the film via a predictable twist that generates broad laughs but feels below a filmmaker of Decker’s intelligence.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2026
That is almost double what spectators would have coughed up for entry into last year’s matchup, according to ticket-sales analyst Victory Resale.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Other local politicians have also coughed up remarkably few text messages in response to public records requests.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026
The Wolverines coughed up 14 total turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Gophers, and that helped Minnesota keep it closer.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2026
The last time these teams met, the Miami Heat coughed up a 19-point lead in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
Even taking into account the buy-out clauses Abramovich paid Porto to hire Villas-Boas and Clearlake and its partners coughed up for Brighton’s Graham Potter, coaches do not cost anywhere near as much as players.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The true nature of Colby’s identity and place in the community, however, is coughed up late into the film via a predictable twist that generates broad laughs but feels below a filmmaker of Decker’s intelligence.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2026
That is almost double what spectators would have coughed up for entry into last year’s matchup, according to ticket-sales analyst Victory Resale.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughed up
Verb
-
Kentucky opened the game’s scoring, but the Longhorns responded with a 15-0 first-quarter scoring run and never relinquished the lead.—
Myah Taylor,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The chance to play in a hometown regional became a possibility last summer when UH relinquished its role as host school for the South Region, one of four regional sites for the NCAA Tournament.—
Joseph Duarte,
Houston Chronicle,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Five hours before first pitch, a new dawn had rendered the Murphy’s sign out of date.—
Andrew Carter,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But there, in the lower left-hand corner of the frame, is the silhouette of a man having his shoes shined, his image rendered sharp by virtue of his stillness.—
Alexey Yurenev,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Boston College pledge, junior Maddie Richey surrendered just 1 hit over 4 innings while striking out 8 for Country Day (4-2 overall, 1-0 confernece).—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The next inning, after Sheehan surrendered a solo homer to Ketel Marte, Freeland showed off his bat.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Liam Schultz delivered a monster game for Burlington Central (2-1-1), going 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and five RBIs.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Jake Bauers hit a three-run homer, Sal Frelick produced a two-run blast and William Contreras delivered a three-run double as the Brewers began their pursuit of a fourth straight NL Central title.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Andrade accused Uthmeier and foundation attorney Jeff Aaron of money laundering and wire fraud and turned over materials from his investigation to Campbell’s office and the FBI.—
Alexandra Glorioso,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The Donora police chief said information about the case was turned over to state police, including body camera video.—
Shelley Bortz,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
From there, the Denver defense turned in a few highlights of its own to keep the game scoreless.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Opposite of Webb, three-time All-Star Max Fried turned in an outing worthy of the national spotlight, tossix 6 1/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts to one walk.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The criminal grand jury, impaneled by prosecutors in Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s office, have yet to hand up any indictments related to the blast, following the conclusion of Cal Fire’s investigation of the blast, which was handed over to Reisig’s office in February.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
-
It was then handed over to a property manager and leased as a residence for $6,000 a month, well beyond the reach of most locals.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coughed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughed%20up. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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