cup

American  

[kuhp] / kʌp /

noun

1. a small, open container made of china, glass, metal, paper, plastic, etc., sometimes having a handle and used chiefly as a receptacle from which to drink hot or cold beverages, soup, etc.

2. the bowllike part of a goblet or the like.

3. a cup with its contents.

   You look exhausted—go sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea.

4. the quantity contained in a cup.

   He drank a cup of water before bed.

5. a unit of capacity, equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 milliliters) or 16 tablespoons; half-pint.

6. an ornamental bowl, vase, etc., especially of precious metal, offered as a prize for a contest.

7. any of various beverages, such as a mixture of wine and other ingredients.

   claret cup.

8. the chalice used in the Eucharist.

9. the wine of the Eucharist.

10. something to be partaken of or endured; one's portion, as of joy or suffering.

11. any cuplike utensil, organ, part, cavity, etc.

12. either of the two forms that cover and usually support the breasts in a bra or other garment, such as a bathing suit.

13. an athletic supporter reinforced with rigid plastic or metal for added protection.

14. Golf.

    1. the metal receptacle within the hole.

    2. the hole itself.

15. Astronomy.  Cup, the constellation Crater.

16. cupping glass.

17. Metalworking.  a cylindrical shell closed at one end, especially one produced in the first stages of a deep-drawing operation.

18. Mathematics.  the cuplike symbol ∪, used to indicate the union of two sets.

19. Archaic.  cups, the drinking of intoxicating liquors.

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verb (used with object)

cupped, cupping

1. to take or place in, or as in, a cup.

   He cupped his ear with the palm of his hand.

2. to form into a cuplike shape.

   He cupped his hands.

3. to use a cupping glass on.

4. Metalworking.  to form (tubing, containers, etc.) by punching hot strip or sheet metal and drawing it through a die.

idioms

1. in one's cups,  intoxicated; drunk.

cup British  

/ kʌp /

noun

1. a small open container, usually having one handle, used for drinking from

2. the contents of such a container

   that cup was too sweet

3. Also called: teacup.   cupful.  a unit of capacity used in cooking equal to approximately half a pint, 8 fluid ounces, or about one quarter of a litre

4. something resembling a cup in shape or function, such as the flower base of some plants of the rose family or a cuplike bodily organ

5. either of two cup-shaped parts of a brassiere, designed to support the breasts

6. a cup-shaped trophy awarded as a prize

7. 1. a sporting contest in which a cup is awarded to the winner

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cup competition

8. a mixed drink with one ingredient as a base, usually served from a bowl

   claret cup

9. golf the hole or metal container in the hole on a green

10. the chalice or the consecrated wine used in the Eucharist

11. one's lot in life

12. drunk

13. informal  one's chosen or preferred thing, task, company, etc

    she's not my cup of tea

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verb

1. to form (something, such as the hands) into the shape of a cup

2. to put into or as if into a cup

3. archaic  to draw blood to the surface of the body of (a person) by using a cupping glass

cup More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cup

• in one's cups

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Other Word Forms

• cuplike adjective
• undercup noun

Etymology

Origin of cup

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English cuppe, from Latin cuppa, variant of cūpa “cask, tub,” apparently akin to Greek kýpellon “goblet,” Sanskrit kūpa- “hole, vessel, well”

Example Sentences

I make myself a cup of coffee and make the kids their breakfast and lunch, then Ashton takes them to the bus.

From The Wall Street Journal

Spencer was back playing professional cricket, almost seven years after his last appearance, and he remained with Western Australia on their run to the 2000-01 domestic one-day cup final.

From BBC

I choose to fill my own cup, because to find true lasting love, it has to start within me.

From Los Angeles Times

At Tottenham, where tickets for the away section were only available to season ticket holders who had also been to every home cup game in the 2024-25 season, 75 tickets were placed on a check.

From BBC

But one question kept resurfacing, from multiple corners of the inbox, as if readers were whispering it behind cupped hands: What if we just aren’t a pie family?

From Salon

Related Words

• bowl
• drink
• mug