coup
1a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment.
(among the Plains Indians of North America) a brave or reckless deed performed in battle by a single warrior, as touching or striking an enemy warrior without sustaining injury oneself.
Idioms about coup
count coup, (among Plains Indians of North America)
to perform a coup.
to recount or relate the coups one has performed.
Origin of coup
1Other definitions for coup (2 of 2)
to overturn; upset.
Origin of coup
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use coup in a sentence
These Republicans seem to ignore the attempted coup taking place in front of their eyes by the candidate they claimed just a few weeks ago was not so bad after all.
The Republican Party has split in two. Let’s keep it that way. | Jennifer Rubin | November 23, 2020 | Washington PostI could take you back to America’s role — confirmed by declassified National Security Agency documents — in Brazil’s 1964 coup against democratically elected, left-leaning President João Goulart.
Butterfly Effect: The Next President’s Big Challenge — Latin America | Charu Kasturi | October 22, 2020 | OzyAmong the more worrying aspects of the coup is the fact that a number of the officers involved had received foreign training, most notably from the United States.
Does US military training incubate coups in Africa? | Theodore McLauchlin | September 30, 2020 | QuartzThe announcement of GM as that manufacturing partner is, on the face of it, a massive coup for the startup.
Nikola stock surges 40% on General Motors partnership news | dzanemorris | September 8, 2020 | FortuneSo we ended up pursuing a foreign-sponsored military coup and that, of course, then led to our military intervention in Vietnam.
An instance of this soul-couping business fell under our inspection while here.
Voyage of H.M.S. Pandora | Edward Edwards
British Dictionary definitions for coup (1 of 3)
/ (kuː) /
a brilliant and successful stroke or action
short for coup d'état
Origin of coup
1British Dictionary definitions for coup (2 of 3)
to turn or fall over
a rubbish tip
Origin of coup
2British Dictionary definitions for coup (3 of 3)
/ (kaʊp) /
Scot to barter; traffic; deal
Origin of coup
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for coup
[ (kooh) ]
In politics, an abbreviation for coup d'état.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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