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cough up meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

  • Cough up has two main meanings:

    1. To force something (like food, phlegm, or blood) out of the throat or lungs by coughing.
    2. (Informal) To give or pay money unwillingly, often after being pressured.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: Phrasal verb
  • Can be transitive (“He coughed up blood”) or intransitive (“She coughed up”).
  • Informal usage with money: cough up + money/amount.

Structures

  • cough up + noun → “He coughed up a coin.”
  • cough up + amount/money → “She had to cough up $50.”

Common Phrases

  • cough up blood – to expel blood from the throat or lungs.
  • cough up the money – to reluctantly pay money.
  • cough up the cash – similar to “cough up the money,” very informal.

Collocations

  • cough up blood/phlegm/mucus
  • cough up money/cash/funds
  • finally cough up
  • refuse to cough up

Examples

  1. The patient began to cough up blood and was taken to the hospital.
  2. He finally coughed up the money he owed me.
  3. The company was forced to cough up compensation after the accident.
  4. She was so sick that she kept coughing up phlegm all morning.
  5. After much pressure, the government had to cough up funds for the project.
  6. Don’t expect him to cough up easily; he hates spending money.
  7. The lawyer demanded the client cough up his fee immediately.
  • (for money) → pay up, fork out, shell out, pony up
  • (for physical expulsion) → spit out, bring up

Antonym

  • (for money) → withhold, hold back
  • (for physical) → none commonly used