2. Something that joins or connects two things together; a link.
3. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
a. Two people united, as by betrothal or marriage.
b. Two people together.
4. Informal A few; several: a couple of days.
5. Physics A pair of forces of equal magnitude acting in parallel but opposite directions, capable of causing rotation but not translation.
v.cou·pled, cou·pling, cou·ples
v.tr.
1. To link together; connect: coupled her refusal with an explanation.
2. Electricity To link (two circuits or currents), as by magnetic induction.
3. Archaic To join together in marriage; marry.
v.intr.
1. To form pairs; join.
2. To unite sexually; have sexual intercourse.
3. To join chemically.
adj.Informal
Two or few: "Every couple years the urge strikes, to ... haul off to a new site"(Garrison Keillor).
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cōpula, bond, pair.]
Usage Note: When used to refer to two people who function socially as a unit, as in a married couple, the word couple may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether the members are considered individually or collectively: The couple were married last week. Only one couple was left on the dance floor. When a pronoun follows, they and their are more common than it and its: The couple decided to spend their (less commonly its) vacation in Florida. Using a singular verb and a plural pronoun, as in The couple wants their children to go to college, is widely considered to be incorrect. Care should be taken that the verb and pronoun agree in number: The couple want their children to go to college. · Although the phrase a couple of has been well established in English since before the Renaissance, modern critics have sometimes maintained that a couple of is too inexact to be appropriate in formal writing. But the inexactitude of a couple of may serve a useful purpose, suggesting that the writer is indifferent to the precise number of items involved. Thus the sentence She lives only a couple of miles away implies not only that the distance is short but that its exact measure is unimportant. This usage should be considered unobjectionable on all levels of style. · The of in the phrase a couple of is often dropped in speech, but this omission is usually considered a mistake. In 2013, 80 percent of the Usage Panel found the sentence A couple friends came over to watch the game to be unacceptable.
1. two people who regularly associate with each other or live together: an engaged couple.
2. (functioning as singular or plural) two people considered as a pair, for or as if for dancing, games, etc
3. (Hunting) chieflyhunting
a. a pair of collars joined by a leash, used to attach hounds to one another
b. two hounds joined in this way
c. the unit of reckoning for hounds in a pack: twenty and a half couple.
4. (General Physics) a pair of equal and opposite parallel forces that have a tendency to produce rotation with a torque or turning moment equal to the product of either force and the perpendicular distance between them
5. (General Physics) physics
a. two dissimilar metals, alloys, or semiconductors in electrical contact, across which a voltage develops. See thermocouple
b. Also called: galvanic couple two dissimilar metals or alloys in electrical contact that when immersed in an electrolyte act as the electrodes of an electrolytic cell
6. (Building) a connector or link between two members, such as a tie connecting a pair of rafters in a roof
7. a couple of (functioning as singular or plural)
a. a combination of two; a pair of: a couple of men.
b. informal a small number of; a few: a couple of days.
pron
(usually preceded by a; functioning as singular or plural) two; a pair: give him a couple.
vb
8. (tr) to connect (two things) together or to connect (one thing) to (another): to couple railway carriages.
9. (tr) to do (two things) simultaneously or alternately: he couples studying with teaching.
10. to form or be formed into a pair or pairs
11. to associate, put, or connect together: history is coupled with sociology.
12. (Electronics) to link (two circuits) by electromagnetic induction
13. (Zoology) (intr) to have sexual intercourse
14. to join or be joined in marriage; marry
15. (Hunting) (tr) to attach (two hounds to each other)
[C13: from Old French: a pair, from Latin cōpula a bond; see copula]
2. a grouping of two persons, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners.
3. any two persons considered together.
4. a small number; few: We met a couple of times.
5. a pair of equal, parallel forces acting in opposite directions and tending to produce rotation.
6. something that joins two things together.
v.t.
7. to fasten or associate together in a pair or pairs.
8. to join; connect.
9. to unite in marriage or in sexual union.
10.
a. to join or associate by means of a coupler.
b. to bring (two electric circuits or circuit components) close enough to permit an exchange of electromagnetic energy.
v.i.
11. to join in a pair; unite.
12. to copulate.
[1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French c(o)uple, Old French cople, cuple < Latin cōpula a tie, bond (see copula)]
cou′ple•a•ble,adj.
usage: The phrase a couple of has been standard for centuries, esp. in referring to distance, money, or time (Stay for a couple of days) and is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened a couple, without of (The gas station is a couple miles from here), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech. Without a following noun, the phrase is highly informal: Jack shouldn't drive. He's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.) See also collective noun.
fellow, mate - one of a pair; "he lost the mate to his shoe"; "one eye was blue but its fellow was brown"
2, II, two, deuce - the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
doubleton - (bridge) a pair of playing cards that are the only cards in their suit in the hand dealt to a player
5.
couple - (physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines
natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics"
dipole - a pair of equal and opposite electric charges or magnetic poles separated by a small distance
building block, unit - a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else; "units of nucleic acids"
moment of a couple - given two equal and opposite forces, the product of the force and the distance between them
Verb
1.
couple - bring two objects, ideas, or people together; "This fact is coupled to the other one"; "Matchmaker, can you match my daughter with a nice young man?"; "The student was paired with a partner for collaboration on the project"
a couple of (= two) → deux a couple of hours → deux heures (= a few) → deux ou trois Could you wait a couple of minutes? BUTPourriez-vous attendre quelques minutes?.
(inf)a couple(= two) → zwei; (= several) → ein paar, einige; a couple of letters/friends etc, a couple letters/friends etc (US) → ein paaror einige Briefe/Freundeetc; we had a couple in the pub → wir haben in der Kneipe ein paargetrunken; a couple of times → ein paar Mal; it took a couple of minutes/hours → es hat einige or ein paarMinuten/ungefähr zwei Stundengedauert
1. two; a few. Can I borrow a couple of chairs?; I knew a couple of people at the party, but not many. paar عَدَد قَليل مِن ، إثنان чифт uns poucos pár, několik ein paar par; nogle δύο, μερικοί un par; unos cuantos, unas cuantas; unos pocos, unas pocas paar, mõni دوتا؛ چند تا pari deuxשני, שתי दो, कुछ par, nekoliko néhány beberapa tvennt af e-u; fáeinir paio いくつか 2개 pora, keletas pāris; daži beberapa paarpar, noen fåpara دو دانی یی، څو دانی par câţiva пара pár par, nekaj par ett par, några สอง; ไม่มาก iki; birkaç 一對,一些 пара دو، كچھ hai 一对,三两个
2. a man and wife, or a boyfriend and girlfriend. a married couple; The young couple have a child. egpaar, paartjie زَوْج двойка casal pár, dvojice das Paar ægtepar; par ζευγάρι, αντρόγυνοpareja paar زوج pariskunta coupleזוג युगल par (bračni) pár pasangan par; hjón coppia 夫婦 한 쌍의 부부 pora pāris (vīrs un sieva) pasangan paarparpara جوړه، زوج casal cuplu пара pár par par par คู่สามีภรรยา çift, karı-koca 夫妻,男女朋友 пара مياں بیوی، جوڑا đôi; cặp 夫妻,情侣
verb
to join together. The coaches were coupled (together), and the train set off. koppel يَقرِنُ بين شيئيْن съединявам (се) juntar spojit verbinden forbinde; koble sammen ενώνωacoplar, enganchar kokku haakima به هم وصل کردن؛ به هم پیوستن yhdistää atteler לְהַצמִיד मिलाना, जोड़ना spariti összekapcsol merangkaikan tengja collegare つなぐ 연결하다 sukabinti, sujungti, susieti savienot pāros; sakabināt dipasangkan aaneenkoppelensammenkople spinać وصل کول، juntar a cupla сцеплять spojiť spojiti (se) upariti koppla [ihop] ทำให้เชื่อมต่อ birleştirmek 連接 з'єднувати(ся); сполучати(ся) جوڑنا، ملانا kết hợp 连接
ˈcouplet (-lit) noun
two lines of verse, one following the other, which rhyme with each other. koeplet مَقْطَع شِعري مُكوَّن من بيْتَيْن двустишие dístico dvojverší das Reimpaar kuplet δίστιχοpareado riimipaar بیت säepari distique צֶמֶד שׁוּרוֹת חֲרוּזוֹת दोहा dvostih rímes verspár kuplet tvær rímaðar ljóðlínur distico 二行連句 연결하다 rimuotas dvieilis [] divrinde ar atskaņām kuplet coupletkuplett dwuwiersz جفت، دو مصری چی یو قافیه لری dístico cuplet; distih рифмованное двустишие dvojveršie kuplet distih rimmat verspar ร้อยกรองที่คล้องจองกันสองวรรค beyit 對句,對聯 римований двовірш شعر، دو مصرعے (thơ) cặp câu 对句(相连并押韵的两行诗),对联
ˈcoupling noun
a link for joining things together. The railway carriage was damaged when the coupling broke. koppeling وَصلة مَكبات السكَّة الحَديديَّه връзка acoplamento připojení, spřahlo die Verbindung kobling σύνδεσμοςacoplamiento, enganche sidur اتصال؛ پیوست kytkentä attelageחיבור युग्मन, संयोजन spoj (össze)kapcsolás sambungan tengibúnaður agganciamento 連結 (器) 연결 장치 sankaba savienošana; savienojums; sakabe gandingan koppelingkoplingłącznik متصل ، پیوست acoplamento cuplare сцепка spoj spona spojnica koppling[sanordning] การเชื่อมต่อ kavrama 列車廂車鉤 зчеплення; сполучення ريل كے دو ڈبوں یا پرزوں کو جوڑنے والا کنڈا móc nối 连接器(尤指列车等的车钩)
Weston most willingly undertook to play as long as they could wish to dance; and the interesting employment had followed, of reckoning up exactly who there would be, and portioning out the indispensable division of space to every couple.
Nay, the understandings of this couple were their principal bone of contention, and one great cause of many quarrels, which from time to time arose between them; and which at last ended, on the side of the lady, in a sovereign contempt for her husband; and on the husband's, in an utter abhorrence of his wife.
I am so hungry, and it will go badly with me in the future, for I see here not an apple or pear or fruit of any kind--nothing but vegetables everywhere.' At last he thought, 'At a pinch I can eat a salad; it does not taste particularly nice, but it will refresh me.' So he looked about for a good head and ate it, but no sooner had he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls than he felt very strange, and found himself wonderfully changed.
Weller stepped slowly to the door, as if he expected something more; slowly opened it, slowly stepped out, and had slowly closed it within a couple of inches, when Mr.
Here I found some young onions, a couple of gladiolus bulbs, and a quantity of immature carrots, all of which I secured, and, scrambling over a ruined wall, went on my way through scarlet and crimson trees towards Kew-- it was like walking through an avenue of gigantic blood drops--possessed with two ideas: to get more food, and to limp, as soon and as far as my strength permitted, out of this accursed unearthly region of the pit.
At intervals a couple would approach the doorway for air, and the haze no longer veiling their features, the demigods resolved themselves into the homely personalities of her own next-door neighbours.
It was expected that Tim Linkinwater and Miss La Creevy would have made a third couple on the occasion, but they declined, and two or three weeks afterwards went out together one morning before breakfast, and, coming back with merry faces, were found to have been quietly married that day.