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.
Still, as motorists cough up more than $100 in some cases to fill up their gas-powered cars, some EV drivers say they are feeling a sense of vindication.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
To secure membership, nations are expected to cough up $1 billion in dues.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026
This matters because if Mr. Kelly was let go without cause, LSU would have to cough up the $54 million left on his 10-year, $100 million contract.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025
The Rangers fans would cough up a lot more than that for an audience with the man, for a chance to air their views by way of a venting of the spleen.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
She stopped to cough up what sounded like a large, wet worm from her throat.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
