cough up
Britishverb
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informal to surrender (money, information, etc), esp reluctantly
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(tr) to bring into the mouth or eject (phlegm, food, etc) by coughing
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Hand over or relinquish, especially money; pay up. For example, It's time the delinquent members coughed up their dues . [ Slang ; late 1800s]
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Confess or divulge, as in Pretty soon she'd cough up the whole story about last night . This idiom transfers the act of vomiting to telling the entire truth. [ Slang ; late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And when it feels like a company is, as you put it, holding your stuff for ransom, you may feel even more inclined to cough up whatever amount they insist you pay.
From MarketWatch
Italy were well in the match but three times coughed up the ball within sight of the tryline to let France off.
From Barron's
Scotland coughed up chances, then scored one, then conceded another.
From BBC
Scotland had shown vulnerabilities only in the autumn, coughing up a 21-point lead against Argentina.
From BBC
To secure membership, nations are expected to cough up $1 billion in dues.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
