coughed up

verb

past tense of cough up
as in relinquished
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress finally got my brother to cough up the dough he owed me

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coughed up Oviedo faked the punt and picked up a first down in Lake Mary territory but the ball was coughed up and the Rams came up with the recovery. — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026 The Marlins lost, 4-2, after the bullpen coughed up the lead and after the offense went just 2 for 18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 players on base. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026 Pitt receiver Tyreek Robinson’s fishing habit might never have reached Narduzzi’s attention if the Monongahela hadn’t coughed up a 5- to 6-pound bass worth bragging about. — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 If coughed up, the bond would help cover large swaths of the $7 million-a-day ticking fee Paramount Skydance is obliged to pay to WBD shareholders starting in a few weeks, plus other costs baked into the ParaBros agreement. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026 Taillon has coughed up 25 home runs in 15 starts this season, allowing five in his previous two starts, ceding at least one in 12 turns and permitting multiple blasts in eight starts. — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026 Peterson shortly after coughed up his eighth turnover with 10 seconds to play and Utah up 100-97. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 5 July 2026 Michael Mimoun, a thirty-nine-year-old from Brooklyn who works in property management, coughed up five hundred dollars to watch there with a group of family and friends, including two five-year-olds. — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 20 June 2026 The Fever coughed up 17 turnovers. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coughed up
  1. relinquished
  2. rendered
  3. surrendered
  4. delivered
  5. turned over
  6. turned in
  7. handed over
Verb
  • Goss voluntarily relinquished his Missouri law license and surrendered his right to practice law in Kansas.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
  • During her tenure, Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava relinquished their titles; Voigt had accused Rose of a toxic workplace culture.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of relinquished
Verb
  • Written and rendered by dudes who longed for unlimited success, these are songs about cheating and being cheated on and trying but failing to be content, or love as lived amid capitalist indulgence.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Hopkins said modern safety design wraps uranium fuel pellets in multiple layers of heavy-duty ceramics and graphite casing, and they’re rendered inert when separated.
    — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of rendered
Verb
  • Of 918 dogs documented as transferred or surrendered to Miranda’s Rescue between January 2025 and April 2026, 731 remained unaccounted for.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • In an affidavit, a police officer reported that some residents learned to carry two wallets, one with a few dollars that could be surrendered when a gang member stuck a gun in their face, and the other with the rest of their money.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrendered
Verb
  • The system controls bleed air delivered to pilots through their oxygen masks.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Another speech that has remained in the collective memory was the one delivered in Kiberg in 1992, during a trip to northern Norway.
    — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of delivered
Verb
  • However, a fire department spokesperson confirmed that some of the cases have been turned over to the Kansas City Police Department’s Bomb and Arson unit to investigate possible criminal activity.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But clearly the city and college have turned over a new leaf.
    — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned over
Verb
  • After his shortest outing of the season last Friday, Webb turned in six strong innings with six strikeouts.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Good finish Walker Buehler turned in his second consecutive quality start.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned in
Verb
  • Even infrastructure and resources under the Kurds’ de facto control is now being handed over to Damascus.
    — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Voting was handed over to the public, as the segment broadcast live on public television across the United States and Mexico.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of handed over

Browse Nearby Words

cougars
coughed up
coughing up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Coughed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coughed%20up. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All