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Cough up

verb, slang

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To expel from the lungs, throat, stomach, etc. by coughing.

    "He was coughing up blood."

  2. 2
    discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth wordnet
  3. 3
    To reluctantly or unwillingly give.; To pay or disburse reluctantly (perhaps influenced by coffers of money). idiomatic, informal, transitive

    "Do you think he'll be able to cough up the three grand by Tuesday?"

  4. 4
    give reluctantly wordnet
  5. 5
    To reluctantly or unwillingly give.; To hand over, give. idiomatic, informal, transitive

    ""Anyhow, you go and cough it up and then we shall see.""

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    To reluctantly or unwillingly give.; To confess; to give up information. idiomatic, informal, intransitive, slang, transitive
  2. 7
    To lose a competition by one's own mistakes, usually near the end of the contest. idiomatic

    "That team had the game won, but they coughed it up in the end."

  3. 8
    To spill, to fumble. idiomatic, transitive

    "England had never before come back to win from a margin of more than 12 points, and the errors continued to come thick and fast as Tom Croft became the latest to cough up the ball."

Etymology

From cough + up.

See also for "cough up"

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