two persons considered as joined together, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners: They make a handsome couple.
any two persons considered together.
Mechanics. a pair of equal, parallel forces acting in opposite directions and tending to produce rotation.
Also called couple-close. Carpentry. a pair of rafters connected by a tie beam or collar beam.
a leash for holding two hounds together.
Fox Hunting. two hounds: 25 hounds or 12½ couple.
verb (used with object),cou·pled,cou·pling.
to fasten, link, or associate together in a pair or pairs.
to join; connect.
to unite in marriage or in sexual union.
Electricity.
to join or associate by means of a coupler.
to bring (two electric circuits or circuit components) close enough to permit an exchange of electromagnetic energy.
verb (used without object),cou·pled,cou·pling.
to join in a pair; unite.
to copulate.
Idioms for couple
a couple of, more than two, but not many, of; a small number of; a few: It will take a couple of days for the package to get there.A dinner party, whether for a couple of old friends or eight new acquaintances, takes nearly the same amount of effort.Also Informal, a couple.
Origin of couple
First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French c(o)uple,Old French cople, cuple, from Latin cōpula “a tie, bond” (see copula); (verb) Middle English couplen, from Anglo-French co(u)pler,Old French copler, cupler, from Latin copulāre (see copulate)
synonym study for couple
1. See pair1
grammar notes for couple
The phrase a couple of, meaning “a small number of; a few; several,” has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence.Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase 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 or representations of speech, especially when followed by number terms (as a couple dozen eggs ) or units of measurement (as a couple years ago; a couple gallons of gas ). This use of couple (as an adjective or modifier) is still disliked by many. Without a following noun, a couple is even more informal: Jack shouldn't drive. It's clear he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.) In referring to two people, couple, like many collective nouns, may take either a singular or a plural verb. Most commonly, it is construed as a plural: The couple were traveling to Texas. See also collective noun.
We do see that a few European countries have them on the books: Germany, Poland, Italy, Ireland, a couple more.
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A couple of people were treated for minor injuries but no major incidents occurred.
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I finally called Lee a couple of times and we talked but he was busy with guests at the house.
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There is one time, however, when couple dancing is in high demand, and that is around weddings.
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The court papers are sealed, but the couple has made it clear they want to be relieved of their parental responsibilities.
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Fenton led the way into the smoking-room, selected a couple of chairs in the further corner, then held out his cigar case.
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He burst into a paroxysm of self-applausive mirth over his joke, in which a couple of satellites near at hand joined.
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This is continued for two or three days and nights until the corn has put forth sprouts a couple of inches long.
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A little later I heard behind me the sound of a couple of horses coming along at a slow, swinging canter.
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My hands were almost numb, too, for I had been a couple of hours in the water.
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British Dictionary definitions for couple
couple
/ (ˈkʌpəl) /
noun
two people who regularly associate with each other or live togetheran engaged couple
(functioning as singular or plural)two people considered as a pair, for or as if for dancing, games, etc
mainlyhunting
a pair of collars joined by a leash, used to attach hounds to one another
two hounds joined in this way
the unit of reckoning for hounds in a packtwenty and a half couple
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
physics
two dissimilar metals, alloys, or semiconductors in electrical contact, across which a voltage developsSee thermocouple
Also called: galvanic coupletwo dissimilar metals or alloys in electrical contact that when immersed in an electrolyte act as the electrodes of an electrolytic cell
a connector or link between two members, such as a tie connecting a pair of rafters in a roof
a couple of(functioning as singular or plural)
a combination of two; a pair ofa couple of men
informala small number of; a fewa couple of days
pronoun
(usually preceded by a; functioning as singular or plural)two; a pairgive him a couple
verb
(tr)to connect (two things) together or to connect (one thing) to (another)to couple railway carriages
(tr)to do (two things) simultaneously or alternatelyhe couples studying with teaching
to form or be formed into a pair or pairs
to associate, put, or connect togetherhistory is coupled with sociology
to link (two circuits) by electromagnetic induction
(intr)to have sexual intercourse
to join or be joined in marriage; marry
(tr)to attach (two hounds to each other)
Word Origin for couple
C13: from Old French: a pair, from Latin cōpula a bond; see copula