fork out

present singular third person forks out · participle present forking out · participle past forked out · past forked out

1. UKambitransitiveinformalTo pay out, to hand over.

   The hard drive broke down, so I forked out five hundred dollars for a new one.

   3 more examples

   We must go to Athens. Will you come if I can get the aunt to fork out twenty quid?

   1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC

   "Come, George, fork out. I'm sorry if you're rocky too but it's an absolute that it's no good going back without it."

   1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

   But in the event that Giuffre’s case against Andrew proceeds and he loses it, and a multimillion-dollar payment has to be made, you get the feeling public attitudes would change overnight if the maternal bailout ran to forking out Andy’s damages for him.

   2022 January 4, Marina Hyde, “Hiding behind the loophole of a dead sex trafficker? Stay classy, Andrew”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: cough up, fork over, shell out