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
Juries agreed with both plaintiffs, calling for the Meta and other defendants to pay KGM $6 million and cough up $375 million in the more extensive State of New Mexico v.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2026
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 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
When that happens the outboard makes a funny sound, like an old cat trying to cough up a fur ball.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
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.
