couplenoun/ˈkʌp.əl/

• 1

  Two of the same kind connected or considered together.

  • A couple of police officers appeared at the door.
  • 'Tis in some sort with Friends (Pardon the Coarseness of the illustration) as it is with Dogs in Couples. They should be of the same Size; and Humour; and That which Pleases the One should Please the Other
• 2

  Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.

  • The number of Souls in the Kingdom being uſually reckon'd one Million and a half, Of theſe I calculate there may be about tvvo hundred thouſand Couple vvhoſe VVives are Breeders, from vvhich Number I Subſtract thirty Thouſand Couples, vvho are able to maintain their ovvn Children, […]
  • Having a beloved couple (Jim and Pam, Cory and Topanga) exchange vows was once a foolproof way to juice TV ratings.
• 3

  informalA small number.

  • A couple of billiard balls, all mud and dirt, two battered hats, a champagne bottle […]
  • ‘Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it need not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’
• 4

  One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.

• 5

  natural-sciencesphysical-sciencesphysicsA turning effect created by forces that produce a non-zero external torque.

• 6

  architectureA couple-close.

• 7

  That which joins or links two things together; a bond or tie; a coupler.

  • I’ll keep my stables where / I lodge my wife; I’ll go in couples with her;
  • As we passed the deserted mountain-dairy, we must have crossed the fresh track of a hare, because the hounds became rather uneasy in the couples.

coupleadj/ˈkʌp.əl/

• 1

  informalTwo or (a) small number of.

  • Put any couple guys in a tricked out car and a couple of bandannas […]" He trailed off.
  • Since we were now living so close, at least those couple hours of talking together helped boost our spirits.

coupledet/ˈkʌp.əl/

• 1

  Two or a few, a small number of.

  • A couple fewer people show up every week.
  • I'll be there in a couple minutes.

coupleverb/ˈkʌp.əl/

• 1

  To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another).

  • Now the conductor will couple the train cars.
  • I've coupled our system to theirs.
• 2

  datedTo join in wedlock; to marry.

  • I am just going to perform a very good office, it is to assist with the archbishop, in degrading a parson who couples all our beggars
• 3

  To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate.

  • On their wedding night they coupled nine times.
  • She had the brilliant inventor and craftsman Daedalus construct her an artificial cow, in which she hid and induced the bull to couple with her […]
• 4

  To cause (two animals) to copulate, to bring (two animals) together for mating.

  • The Parilia was generally considered to be the best time for coupling the rams and the ewes.
• 5

  hobbieshorse-racinghorseracingTo enter (multiple horses with the same owner) into a race so that a single bet can be placed on any of them winning.