Definitions
1.VerbSometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth."Sometimes she coughed up blood.; He almost coughed himself into a fit."
2.VerbSometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth."Sometimes she coughed up blood."
3.VerbTo cause (oneself or something) to be in a certain condition in the manner described in etymology 1 sense 1.1."He almost coughed himself into a fit."
4.VerbTo express (words, etc.) in the manner described in etymology 1 sense 1.1.
5.VerbTo surrender (information); to confess.
Chiefly followed by up: to give up or hand over (something); especially, to pay up (money).
6.VerbTo surrender (information); to confess.
7.VerbChiefly followed by up: to give up or hand over (something); especially, to pay up (money).
8.VerbTo push air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound) and out through the mouth, usually to expel something blocking or irritating the airway."I breathed in a lungful of smoke by mistake, and started to cough.; The engine coughed and sputtered."
9.VerbTo push air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound) and out through the mouth, usually to expel something blocking or irritating the airway."I breathed in a lungful of smoke by mistake, and started to cough."
10.VerbTo make a noise like a cough."The engine coughed and sputtered."
11.VerbTo surrender information; to confess, to spill the beans.
12.NounA sudden, often involuntary expulsion of air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth."Behind me, I heard a distinct, dry cough."
13.NounA bout of repeated coughing (verb etymology 1 sense 2.1); also, a medical condition that causes one to cough.":; whooping cough; Sorry, I can’t come to work today—I’ve got a nasty cough."
14.NounA noise or sound like a cough (etymology 2, noun sense 1).
15.NounA vocalisation from a bird or other animal resembling a human cough.
16.InterjectionUsed to represent the sound of a cough (noun sense 1), especially when focusing attention on a following utterance, often an attribution of blame or a euphemism: ahem."He was—cough—indisposed."