# cough up

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To expel from the lungs, throat, stomach, etc. by coughing.
2. To reluctantly or unwillingly give.
3. To reluctantly or unwillingly give.
4. To reluctantly or unwillingly give.
5. To lose a competition by one's own mistakes, usually near the end of the contest.
6. To spill, to fumble.

## Etymology
From Middle English coughen up, equivalent to cough + up. Sense 2.1 was perhaps influenced by coffers of money.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cough-up