cough A cough sounds like this: (*cough). A cough helps to remove irritants from the respiratory system. In these sentences, "cough" is a verb:  cough, cough
- He’s coughing because he’s sick.
- She started to cough because she swallowed a fly.
- Dennis coughed up some blood this morning, so they brought him to the hospital.
- I have to make an appointment with a doctor because I can’t stop coughing.
In these sentences, "cough" is a noun: - He has a bad cough.
- You should see a doctor about that cough.
- The conductor of the orchestra got angry because of all the coughing during the performance.
You can also use "cough" as an adjective: - Cough syrup helps reduce the effects of a cold.
- Cough drops help if you have a sore throat.
- Robitussin is strong cough medicine.
"Cough it up" is a popular expression in English. It means to hand something over to another person, especially money: - If you owe money to the I.R.S.,* you’d better cough it up or pay a penalty.
- Most of us were able to cough up a few bucks to help the man buy a train ticket.
* I.R.S.: Internal Revenue Service. This is the U.S. government agency that collects tax money from citizens. Click here to learn more words. April 3, 2013 | 
cough, cough