[kawf, kof] 
| 1. | to expel air from the lungs suddenly with a harsh noise, often involuntarily. |
| 2. | (of an internal-combustion engine) to make a similar noise as a result of the failure of one or more cylinders to fire in sequence. |
| 3. | to make a similar sound, as a machine gun firing in spurts. |
| 4. | to expel by coughing (usually fol. by up or out): to cough up phlegm. |
| 5. | the act or sound of coughing. |
| 6. | an illness characterized by frequent coughing. |
| 7. | a sound similar to a cough, a machine gun, or an engine firing improperly. |
| 8. | cough up, Slang.
|
| cough (kôf, kŏf) v. coughed, cough·ing, coughs v. intr.
To expel by coughing: coughed up phlegm. n.
cough up Slang
[Middle English coughen, ultimately of imitative origin.] |
cough (sth) up
|
cough (kôf)
v. coughed, cough·ing, coughs
To expel air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material. n.
The act of coughing.
An illness marked by frequent coughing.
| cough (kôf, kŏf) Pronunciation Key
The act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material. |
cough up
Hand over or relinquish, especially money; pay up. For example, It's time the delinquent members coughed up their dues. [Slang; late 1800s]
Confess or divulge, as in Pretty soon she'd cough up the whole story about last night. This idiom transfers the act of vomiting to telling the entire truth. [Slang; late 1800s]