couple

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1. Couple, as in 'a couple of...', needs to be used and understood with care, as it retains its original meaning of 'two' alongside its more informal meaning 'a few'. A couple of friends will usually mean two friends, no more or less, whereas a couple of hours may mean two hours or three hours or an indeterminate period of time.

2. Couple is a singular noun that can be used with a singular or plural verb. A plural construction is usual when couple means 'two married people or partners' or when it is followed by of and a plural noun (see collective noun):

Palimony, the term for sharing money after an unmarried couple have split up—Time, 1980

There are a couple of expressions you should listen out for when visiting this side of the world—Aberdeen Evening Express, 2005.

3. Couple has developed attributive uses in the constructions (1) a couple more (+ plural noun):

'How's your work?' 'Nearly done. A couple more days.'—Maurice Gee, New Zealand English 1992

, and (2) more controversially, and principally in American English, couple (+ plural noun):

In the next couple months we got to know each other like real buddies—Garrison Keillor, 1989.

This last use sounds decidedly alien to British ears, at least for now.

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For more information on couple, visit Britannica.com.

A system of two parallel forces of equal magnitude and opposite sense. Under a couple's action a rigid body tends only to rotate about a line normal to the couple's plane. This tendency reflects the vector properties of a couple.

The total force of a couple is zero. The total moment C of a couple is identical about any point. Accordingly, C is the moment of either force about a point on the other and is perpendicular to the couple's plane. See also Resultant of forces; Statics.

The moment of a couple about a directed line is the component of its total moment in the line's direction. Couples are equivalent whose total moments are equal.

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also couple with

noun

1. Two items of the same kind together: brace, couplet, doublet, duet, duo, match, pair, two, twosome, yoke. See group, same/different/compare.
2. Two persons united, as by marriage: duo, pair, twosome. See group.

verb

1. To join one thing to another: affix, attach, clip, connect, fasten, fix, moor, secure. See assemble/disassemble.
2. To bring or come together into a united whole: coalesce, combine, compound, concrete, conjoin, conjugate, connect, consolidate, join, link, marry, meld, unify, unite, wed, yoke. See assemble/disassemble.
3. To come or bring together in one's mind or imagination: associate, bracket, connect, correlate, identify, link. See same/different/compare.
4. To engage in sexual relations with: bed, copulate, have, mate, sleep with, take. Idioms: go to bed with, make love, make whoopee, roll in the hay. See sex/asexual.

v

Definition: join two things
Antonyms: disconnect, disjoin, divide, separate, unbuckle, uncouple

Two equal and opposite parallel forces, with different lines of action, tending to produce rotation of a body; their moment equals the product of the magnitude of one of the forces and the perpendicular distance between them.

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IN BRIEF: adj. - Connected by a link, as railway cars or trailer trucks; Joined together especially in a pair or pairs.

Tutor's tip: To be "coupled" means to be joined together, as in a marriage, while a "couplet" is a poetic unit of two lines.

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1. a pair of equal and opposite, parallel but not collinear, forces acting on a body, thus producing a turning effect.
2. to join or link (two things) together.

Previous:	counting efficiency, countertrypsin, countertransport
Next:	coupled assay, coupled oxidation and phosphorylation, coupled reaction

two hounds.

For a list of words related to couple, see:

• Fabrication and Manufacturing Processes - couple: (vb) join together, link, connect
• Marriage and Divorce - couple: married man and woman; (vb) join in wedlock
• Love and Romance - couple: two people who are in love with each other or relating erotically
• Sex Acts - couple: (vb) have sexual intercourse

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See words rhyming with "couple."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Couple.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - par, ægtepar, dansepar, spærfag, jagthundepar, svingpar
v. tr. - sammenkoble, forbinde, giftes med
v. intr. - parres, kopulere
adj. - et par

idioms:

• a couple of    et par
• be coupled with    sammenkobles med, forenes med
• couple to    koble sammen med

Nederlands (Dutch)
paar, (getrouwd) stel, partners (in spel), koppel (ling/-band), koppelen, trouwen, paren

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Phys, Sport) couple, couple (jeune, marié), couple, deux (gens, objets), deux ou trois
v. tr. - coupler, associer, relier, coupler (circuits), (Rail) atteler, (fig) associer, (Mécan) engrener, embrayer (une machine)
v. intr. - s'accoupler
adj. - couplé, deux, deux ou trois

idioms:

• a couple of    quelques
• be coupled with    s'ajouter à
• couple to    accoupler à, relier à

Deutsch (German)
n. - Paar
v. - koppeln, verbinden, sich paaren
adj. - ein paar

idioms:

• a couple of    ein paar
• be coupled with    verbunden sein mit
• couple to    ankoppeln

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ζευγάρι, ζεύγος, δυάδα, ανδρόγυνο, (μηχαν.) ζεύγος δυνάμεων
v. - συνδέω, συνάπτω, συνδυάζω, συσχετίζω, ζευγαρώνω, συνουσιάζομαι

idioms:

• a couple of    δυο-τρεις, λίγοι
• be coupled with    συνδυάζομαι με
• couple to    συνδέω με

Italiano (Italian)
accoppiare, accoppiarsi, coppia

idioms:

• a couple of    un paio di
• be coupled with    essere accomunato a
• couple to    agganciare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - casal (m), par (m), dupla (f), poucos (m pl) (coloq.)
v. - juntar, acoplar, casar, emparelhar

idioms:

• a couple of    um par de
• be coupled with    ser ou estar juntado com
• couple to    ligado a

Русский (Russian)
соединять, спаривать, пара

idioms:

• a couple of    пара
• be coupled with    в дополнение к
• couple to    соединять с

Español (Spanish)
n. - pareja, matrimonio
v. tr. - asociar, acoplar, conectar, enganchar, empalmar
v. intr. - aparearse, asociarse, acoplarse, conectarse, engancharse, empalmarse
adj. - en pareja, asociado, acoplado, conectado, enganchado, empalmado, apareado

idioms:

• a couple of    un par de
• be coupled with    traer aparejado, estar asociado con
• couple to    acoplar, enganchar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - par, par (man o kvinna), koppel (jakt.)
v. - koppla, koppla ihop, förena (bildl.), para, gifta ihop, para sig, gifta sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
对, 双, 未婚夫妻, 夫妇, 一对舞伴, 加倍, 连结, 使成双, 结合, 交配, 成婚, 两个, 几个

idioms:

• a couple of    两个, 几个
• be coupled with    跟...连起来
• couple to    跟...连起来

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 對, 雙, 未婚夫妻, 夫婦, 一對舞伴
v. tr. - 加倍, 連結, 使成雙
v. intr. - 結合, 交配, 成婚
adj. - 兩個, 幾個

idioms:

• a couple of    兩個, 幾個
• be coupled with    跟...連起來
• couple to    跟...連起來

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 한 쌍, 둘, 두 가지 것을 잇는 것
v. tr. - 잇다, 결혼시키다
v. intr. - 연결되다, 짝이 되다, 결합하다
adj. - 한 쌍의

idioms:

• a couple of    두 개의, 두셋의
• be coupled with    연관시키다
• couple to    연결하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 一対, 男女, 夫婦, いくつか, 二つ
v. - つなぐ, 関連づける, 交尾する, 結合する

idioms:

• a couple of    二つの, いくつかの
• be coupled with    連想する, 結婚させる
• couple to    繋ぐ, 一緒にさせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أثنان, زوج (فعل) ربط, جمع بين أثنين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮זוג‬
v. tr. - ‮שילב, חיבר, קישר, קישר במחשבה, נלווה אל‬
v. intr. - ‮הזדווג, קישר במחשבה, נלווה אל‬
adj. - ‮שניים או כמה‬

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