Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,730,276,269 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

cough up

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
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.

[Middle English coughen, ultimately of imitative origin.]

cough up
vb (adverb)
1. Informal to surrender (money, information, etc.), esp reluctantly
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Physiology) (tr) to bring into the mouth or eject (phlegm, food, etc.) by coughing
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.cough up - give reluctantly; "He coughed up some money for his children's tuition"
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 - 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"
Translations
? cough up
vt sep (lit)aushusten
vt insep (fig inf) moneyrausrücken (inf), → ausspucken (inf), → rüberkommen mit (sl)
vi (fig inf)blechen (inf), → ausspucken (inf)


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
It's a very prolonged cough without being productive," Cherry says, in contrast to bronchitis, whose victims often cough up mucus.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.