coughs up

verb

present tense third-person singular of cough up
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coughs up Each room coughs up its contents like a kid with consumption. — Marni Jameson, Arkansas Online, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughs up
  1. relinquishes
  2. renders
  3. surrenders
  4. delivers
  5. turns in
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
Definition of relinquishes
Verb
  • Any page that’s readable by a human could also be correctly interpreted by an AI scraping tool that simply renders the full webpage and uses optical character recognition on an image of the output.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026
  • However, a severe injury now renders any potential deal for the 20-year-old virtually impossible, altering his immediate future at the club.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of renders
Verb
  • Summer is usually the busiest season for shelters, officials said, as more stray animals, owner surrenders and vulnerable kittens arrive.
    — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • For an Astros pitching staff that surrenders the third-highest fly-ball rate of any team in the sport, this matters.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of surrenders
Verb
  • The lightweight formula delivers airy lift at the roots without sacrificing softness.
    — Iman Balagam, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
  • With caffeine, vitamin E, and glycerin to hydrate and brighten, the formula delivers buildable coverage with the second-skin finish that made the Luminous Silk line famous.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of delivers
Verb
  • On television, Jones appeared in the TV movie The Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance, and made guest turns in the series Dallas, Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince, Sliders and As the World Turns.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Pierce is best known for his Emmy Award-winning performance in Frasier and Broadway turns in Pirates!
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of turns in

Browse Nearby Words

coughing up
coughs up
cough up
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Cite this Entry

“Coughs up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughs%20up. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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