cough up

cough  (kôf, kf)

v. coughed, cough·ing, coughs

v.intr.

1. To expel air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material.

2. To make a noise similar to noisy expulsion of air from the lungs: The engine coughed and died.

v.tr.

To expel by coughing: coughed up phlegm.

n.

1. The act of coughing.

2. An illness marked by frequent coughing.

Phrasal Verb:

cough up Slang

1. To hand over or relinquish (money or another possession), often reluctantly.

2. To confess or disclose: When he saw that the police might arrest him, he coughed up the details of what he had seen.

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[Middle English coughen, ultimately of imitative origin.]

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cough up

Verb

1. Informal to give up (money or information)

2. to bring up into the mouth by coughing: to cough up blood

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	cough up - give reluctantly; "He coughed up some money for his children's tuition" pony up, spit up give - transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody; "I gave her my money"; "can you give me lessons?"; "She gave the children lots of love and tender loving care"
	2.	cough up - discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth cough out, expectorate, spit up, spit out cough - exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion; "The smoker coughs all day" ptyalise, ptyalize, spew, spit, spue - expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth; "The father of the victim spat at the alleged murderer" spit out, splutter, sputter - spit up in an explosive manner eject, expel, release, exhaust, discharge - eliminate (a substance); "combustion products are exhausted in the engine"; "the plant releases a gas"