coupling

[ kuhp-ling ]
See synonyms for coupling on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of a person or thing that couples.

  2. Machinery.

    • a device for joining two rotating shafts semipermanently at their ends so as to transmit torque from one to the other.: Compare clutch1 (def. 12a).

    • a part with an inside thread for connecting two pipes of the same diameter.

    • a fitting at the end of a length of hose into which the end of another such length can be screwed or fitted.

  1. Railroads. coupler (def. 3).

  2. Electricity.

    • the association of two circuits or systems in such a way that power may be transferred from one to the other.

    • a device or expedient to ensure this.

  3. a short length of plumbing pipe having each end threaded on the inside.

  4. the part of the body between the tops of the shoulder blades and the tops of the hip joints in a dog, horse, etc.

Origin of coupling

1
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at couple, -ing1

Words Nearby coupling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coupling in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for coupling

coupling

/ (ˈkʌplɪŋ) /


noun
  1. a mechanical device that connects two things

  2. a device for connecting railway cars or trucks together

  1. the part of the body of a horse, dog, or other quadruped that lies between the forequarters and the hindquarters

  2. electronics the act or process of linking two or more circuits so that power can be transferred between them usually by mutual induction, as in a transformer, or by means of a capacitor or inductor common to both circuits: See also direct coupling

  3. physics an interaction between different properties of a system, such as a group of atoms or nuclei, or between two or more systems

  4. genetics the occurrence of two specified nonallelic genes from the same parent on the same chromosome

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012