If you cough up, you are doing one of two things: You are either getting something out of your body by coughing or vomiting, or you are handing over or relinquishing something, often money and usually with some sense of reluctance.
Examples Sentences Using Cough Up
- I wouldn’t go to that new restaurant if I were you. I had their dish of the day and I was coughing up all night!
- I just don’t understand what this stuff is that I’m coughing up. If it was acid reflux, would I still cough up the clear glue like phlegm?
- They owed us thousands of dollars for about a year and kept making excuses for why they hadn’t paid. They finally coughed up when we threatened to sue them!
Example Headlines That Used Cough Up
- Kelsay won’t cough up No. 90 for Mario Williams
- Trump to Stormy: Cough up $340,000 for my legal bills
- Mother-of-six saves her own life by coughing up a cancerous tumour
Cough up is not the nicest of expressions, but as you can see, it is commonly used in every day English.
Leave us a comment below and tell us about the last time you coughed something up! 😉
Reader Interactions