uncouple
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release the coupling or link between; disconnect; let go.
to uncouple railroad cars.
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to end (a romantic relationship or marriage).
Their marriage was uncoupled by financial problems.
verb (used without object)
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to become unfastened; let go.
The glider uncoupled from the tow plane.
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to end a romantic relationship or marriage.
My sister and her boyfriend have uncoupled after ten years together.
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(of a romantic relationship or marriage) to end.
verb
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to disconnect or unfasten or become disconnected or unfastened
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(tr) to set loose; release
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has uncoupledperfect 3rd person singular
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have uncoupledperfect
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are uncouplingprogressive
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have been uncouplingperfect progressive
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uncouplingparticiple
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is uncouplingprogressive 3rd person singular
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uncouplessingular 3rd person
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has been uncouplingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am uncouplingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had uncoupledperfect
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had been uncouplingperfect progressive
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was uncouplingprogressive singular
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were uncouplingprogressive plural
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uncoupledparticiple
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uncoupledsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of uncouple
Vocabulary lists containing uncouple
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you uncouple your net worth from your self-worth, navigating finances becomes less sensitive.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026
"But in economics, we know that if payments are directly tied to penalties, that's restrictive, and it can't be optimal. So, we said, let's uncouple them and see what solution would happen."
From Science Daily • May 15, 2024
But the audience, which organizers estimated to be around 400 people, was rapt in their chairs through the whole running time, never seeming to uncouple from the events onscreen.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2024
It’s tough to uncouple your want/work/have system from everyone and everything except your own morality, purpose and mental health.
From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2021
Instead of getting in there and taking things over, couldn’t we learn to disconnect altogether, uncouple, detach, and float free?
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
