as in relinquishes
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 coughs up
Each room coughs up its contents like a kid with consumption.
—
Marni Jameson, Arkansas Online, 29 Aug. 2025
Marni Jameson, Arkansas Online, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughs up
Verb
-
Could this be the anarchic mind that emerges when the ego relinquishes its hold?—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
-
If a player chooses not to negotiate with the Panthers, that player will be unable to sign elsewhere, unless Carolina relinquishes his rights by not offering him a tender.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Without revealing too much, this structure from al-Mansour and co-writer Brad Niemann ends up having a roundabout reason too, given a bizarre third-act twist that renders moot the film’s entire point of view, along with its central themes.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
8 June 2026
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The cooler itself projects a custom image onto these spinning blades, which renders them as a floating hologram that hovers above the blades, larger than their diameter.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
The ayatollahs won’t make any deal that surrenders their nuclear program.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
22 May 2026
-
Alex Murdaugh surrenders Murdaugh turned himself in at the Hampton County Detention Center.—
Marlene Lenthang,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
In Literature and Painting Playset, 2025, a Cartman-like figure wearing a beret splashes daubs of paint on the screen while a female figure in pilgrim dress delivers a long, disjointed monologue patched together by Kokopeli from Quora posts, art history texts, and other online detritus.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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From the driver who picks you up at the airport, to the servers at the restaurants, and the tour guides—you are guaranteed a warmth and level of luxury and service that Four Seasons promises and delivers on.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Known for projects like Transparent and C’mon C’mon, Hoffmann is coming off turns in Netflix’s thriller series Eric, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, and 20th’s Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere, opposite Jeremy Allen White.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
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Allen went on to play the romantic lead in films like John Carpenter’s Starman (1984) and Scrooged (1988), and delivered strong supporting turns in high-profile movies like Malcolm X (1992) and The Sandlot (1993), as well as Steven Soderbergh’s underseen King of the Hill (1993).—
Jesse Hassenger,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coughs up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughs%20up. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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