as in relinquishing
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 coughing up
Herbert, who threw four interceptions in his last postseason appearance, fumbled five times after only coughing up the ball twice in his first 12 games this season.
—
Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
In a chaotic match when both sides kept coughing up possession, especially early in the second half, Miley was cool-headed and dependable on the ball.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Newborns and frail older people often have a hard time coughing up the mucus, Hopkins says.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
Chase reeled in five catches for 50 yards, coughing up a fumble that was one of Cincinnati's five total turnovers.
—Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 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
Not everyone infected with TB gets symptoms, but those with active cases can suffer from a persistent cough, including coughing up blood or sputum, chest pain, fever, and fatigue.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
According to Gerald, Bob went to the hospital after coughing up blood and was scheduled for tests.
—EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Chest pains, coughing that lasts for three weeks or more, and coughing up blood, are all symptoms of TB infection.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
In a chaotic match when both sides kept coughing up possession, especially early in the second half, Miley was cool-headed and dependable on the ball.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Newborns and frail older people often have a hard time coughing up the mucus, Hopkins says.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
Chase reeled in five catches for 50 yards, coughing up a fumble that was one of Cincinnati's five total turnovers.
—Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 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
Not everyone infected with TB gets symptoms, but those with active cases can suffer from a persistent cough, including coughing up blood or sputum, chest pain, fever, and fatigue.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
According to Gerald, Bob went to the hospital after coughing up blood and was scheduled for tests.
—EW.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Chest pains, coughing that lasts for three weeks or more, and coughing up blood, are all symptoms of TB infection.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughing up
Verb
-
The Buffalo Bills lasted seven weeks in the pole position before relinquishing the title to the Kansas City Chiefs.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Hamas has shown no signs of relinquishing power or its weapons.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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However, while trying to confront grief with a sense of mischief, the movie’s impish tonal approach takes the sting out of death a little too often, rendering its catharsis null.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Initially, Riot reported substantial financial enhancements in its core mining operations, rendering the company much more profitable compared to earlier mining downturns.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The last time Ohtani took the mound was in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, turning in a sterling six innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10 batters.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The second writer on the Billitier project never saw a dime, despite turning in a treatment that would normally earn him a WGA minimum of $50,000.—
Steve Belanger,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One person who’s not giving up that information is Kylie Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s sister-in-law, who was questioned about the date of the big day in a recent interview.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Jan. 2026
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The finale ended on that cliffhanger, with Simon giving up his anonymity as a superpowered person, as well as his successful acting career, all to save Trevor.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Lee was arrested after surrendering to authorities in December 2021.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
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One week earlier, Campbell had issues containing Chargers rushers, surrendering a sack and five pressures in the wild-card round.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Nurse had Philadelphia trapping throughout the floor, and that led to Sacramento missing shots and turning over the basketball.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
His team sits just a half-game out of second place in the East after turning over half of its rotation this offseason.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Because of this, handing over $35 million (€30 million) to Manchester United for Rashford might be the safest bet after all.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Phase One encountered setbacks due to Hamas not handing over the final deceased hostage and the Israeli airstrikes that occurred after the cease-fire came into effect in October.—
Olivia-Anne Cleary,
Time,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Pretti provided care and comfort after Fouts underwent surgery to repair a descending aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the artery delivering blood from the heart to the rest of the body.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
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And those traditional soil tests use acids to extract phosphorus from the soil, delivering inaccurate findings of how much phosphorus plants can actually access.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coughing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughing%20up. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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