Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Two items of the same kind; a pair.
  • noun Something that joins or connects two things together; a link.
  • noun Two people united, as by betrothal or marriage.
  • noun Two people together.
  • noun Informal A few; several.
  • noun Physics A pair of forces of equal magnitude acting in parallel but opposite directions, capable of causing rotation but not translation.
  • intransitive verb To link together; connect.
  • intransitive verb Electricity To link (two circuits or currents), as by magnetic induction.
  • intransitive verb Archaic To join together in marriage; marry.
  • intransitive verb To form pairs; join.
  • intransitive verb To unite sexually; have sexual intercourse.
  • intransitive verb To join chemically.
  • adjective Two or few.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In astronomy, a double star.
  • To link or connect, as one thing with another; fasten together, especially in a pair or pairs; unite: as, to couple cars.
  • To marry; join together as husband and wife; unite in matrimony.
  • In organ-playing, to connect by means of a coupler, as two keys or keyboards. See coupler .
  • To embrace, as the sexes; copulate.
  • In organ-playing, to be susceptible of connection by means of a coupler, as one key or keyboard with another.
  • noun Two of the same class or kind connected or considered together; a brace: as, a couple of oranges; “a couple of shepherds,”
  • noun Specifically A man and woman associated together, whether by marriage or by betrothal, or accompanying each other on a given occasion, as at a party: as, a loving couple; a young couple.
  • noun A pair of forces, equal, parallel, and acting in opposite directions: they tend to make the body acted upon rotate.
  • noun In electricity, a pair of metallic plates in contact, used as a source of an electrical current, as in one of the cells of a voltaic battery (a voltaic couple), or in a thermo-electric battery (a thermo-electric couple). See electricity and thermo-electricity.
  • noun plural In carpentry, rafters framed together in pairs by means of a tie at or near their lower ends.
  • noun plural Association by twos; junction of two.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To link or tie, as one thing to another; to connect or fasten together; to join.
  • transitive verb colloq. To join in wedlock; to marry.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To come together as male and female; to copulate.
  • noun obsolete That which joins or links two things together; a bond or tie; a coupler.
  • noun Two of the same kind connected or considered together; a pair; a brace.
  • noun A male and female associated together; esp., a man and woman who are married or betrothed.
  • noun (Arch.) See Couple-close.
  • noun (Elec.) One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery; -- called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.
  • noun (Mech.) Two rotations, movements, etc., which are equal in amount but opposite in direction, and acting along parallel lines or around parallel axes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.
  • noun Two of the same kind connected or considered together.
  • noun informal A small number.
  • noun One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.
  • noun physics Two forces that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction (and acting along parallel lines), thus creating the turning effect of a torque or moment.
  • determiner informal A small number of.
  • verb transitive To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another).
  • verb transitive, dated To join in wedlock; to marry.
  • verb intransitive To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb link together
  • verb bring two objects, ideas, or people together
  • noun a pair who associate with one another
  • noun a small indefinite number
  • noun two items of the same kind
  • verb engage in sexual intercourse

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cōpula, bond, pair.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French couple, from Latin copula.

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