cough up
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cough up
Where it comes from
From Middle English coughen up, equivalent to cough + up. Sense 2.1 was perhaps influenced by coffers of money.
(to lose by one's own mistakes): Compare typologically Russian проду́ть (prodútʹ), профу́кать (profúkatʹ).
verb coughs up · coughing up · coughed up
- To expel from the lungs, throat, stomach, etc. by coughing. He was coughing up blood.
- Of money: to pay or disburse reluctantly. Do you think he'll be able to cough up the three grand by Tuesday?
- Of other objects: to hand over, give. By the time you get back the men will all be striking out for the fire, and we ’ll break for the house and collar the dollars. Everybody cough up what matches he ’s got.
- To confess; to give up information.
- To lose a competition by one's own mistakes, usually near the end of the contest. That team had the game won, but they coughed it up in the end.
- To spill, to fumble. 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.
Translations
Every language
verb to expel by coughing
| Español | expectorar |
|---|---|
| Français | cracher |
| Deutsch | aushusten |
| Русский | отка́шливать otkášlivatʹ |
verb to pay money
| Español | apoquinar, aflojar, desembolsar |
|---|---|
| Português | arrotar |
| Français | cracher, lâcher |
| Deutsch | herausrücken, blechen |
| Русский | выкла́дывать vykládyvatʹ, вы́ложить, раскоше́ливаться raskošélivatʹsja, раскоше́литься raskošélitʹsja |
verb to lose by one's own mistakes
| Français | se planter |
|---|
Talk about this word "cough up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cough%20up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cough up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cough%20up "cough up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cough%20up.Cite this
@misc{cough_up_2026,
title = {cough up},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cough%20up},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
