- cough up
- If you have to cough up something, such as money or information, you give it reluctantly or unwillingly.
He refused to say who attacked him until his father made him cough up the names.
English Idioms & idiomatic expressions. 2014.
cough up
Look at other dictionaries:
Cough — A young boy coughing due to pertussis (Whooping Cough). ICD 10 R05 ICD … Wikipedia
Cough — Cough, n. [Cg. D. kuch. See {Cough}, v. i. ] 1. A sudden, noisy, and violent expulsion of air from the chest, caused by irritation in the air passages, or by the reflex action of nervous or gastric disorder, etc. [1913 Webster] 2. The more or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Cough — Cough, v. t. 1. To expel from the lungs or air passages by coughing; followed by up; as, to cough up phlegm. [1913 Webster] 2. To bring to a specified state by coughing; as, he coughed himself hoarse. [1913 Webster] {To cough down}, to silence or … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Cough — (k?f), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Coughed} (k?ft); p. pr. & vb. n. {Coughing}.] [Cf. D. kuchen, MHG. k?chen to breathe, G. keuchen to pant, and E. chincough, the first part of which is prob. akin to cough; cf. also E. choke.] To expel air, or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cough — [kɒf ǁ kɒːf] verb cough something → up phrasal verb [intransitive, transitive] informal to pay money unwillingly: • Grumman finally coughed up $40 million in settlement of the legal claims against it. • We ll get a new TV as soon as the insurance … Financial and business terms
cough up — (something) 1. to allow an opponent to take the lead in a competition. Sele got a 3 0 lead in the second inning but then coughed it up in the third. 2. to pay money unwillingly. I had to cough up $35 for administration fees. Martinez s lawyers… … New idioms dictionary
cough — [kôf] vi. [ME coughen, akin to MDu cuchen, to cough, Ger keuchen, to gasp] 1. to expel air suddenly and noisily from the lungs through the glottis, either as the result of an involuntary muscular spasm in the throat or to clear the air passages 2 … English World dictionary
cough — [n] expelled air with sound ahem, bark, cold, croup, frog in throat*, hack, hem, tickle in throat*, whoop; concepts 65,316 cough [v] expelling air with sound bark, choke, clear throat, convulse, expectorate, hack, hawk, hem, spit up, vomit,… … New thesaurus
cough — ► VERB 1) expel air from the lungs with a sudden sharp sound. 2) (of an engine) make a sudden harsh noise. 3) (cough up) informal give (something, especially money) reluctantly. 4) Brit. informal reveal information; confess. ► NOUN 1) a … English terms dictionary
cough — (v.) early 14c., coughen, probably in O.E., but not recorded, from P.Gmc. *kokh (with the rough kh of German or of Scottish loch; Cf. M.Du. kochen, M.H.G. kuchen). Onomatopoeic. Related: Coughed; coughing. As a noun from c.1300 … Etymology dictionary
cough — cough1 [ kaf ] verb * 1. ) intransitive to force air up through your throat with a sudden noise, especially when you have a cold or when you want to get someone s attention: My chest felt painful, and I was coughing uncontrollably. a ) cough or… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
