cough up

verb

1. informal,  to surrender (money, information, etc), esp reluctantly

2. (tr) to bring into the mouth or eject (phlegm, food, etc) by coughing

Idioms and Phrases

Hand over or relinquish, especially money; pay up. For example, It's time the delinquent members coughed up their dues . [ Slang ; late 1800s]

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

Enthralled by Burbage’s big talk, John Brayne sold his house, let his business slide and coughed up the money needed to begin construction amid the ruins of a medieval priory.

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There are a few possible reasons investors are coughing up so much money for these homes.

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However, it is unclear if the federal government will reimburse states for those payments, which often total millions each month, making some states reluctant to cough up their own funds.

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The only way out of it would be through Monster Rewards - and to get them, he would have to cough up £6,740 on the spot.

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Perhaps the most grotesque episode features the boys salvaging their grandmother’s hot tub, promising Dad they’ll keep it clean and then contracting some kind of gruesome, racking bronchial affliction that coughs up another moral.

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Related Words

• allocate 
• concentrate 
• consume 
• contribute 
• donate 
• drop 
• employ 
• expend 
• give 
• invest 
• put in 
• settle 
• use 
• waste