coup
1 Americannoun
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coups
plural
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a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment.
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(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
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a brilliant and successful stroke or action
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short for coup d'état
verb
noun
verb
Usage
Why is coup trending? On January 6, 2021, interest in the word coup spiked—corresponding with a 962% increase in search interest on Dictionary.com—after a mob of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U. S. Capitol building on the day Congress was set to certify the electoral vote count to confirm Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. Some journalists, political analysts, and politicians used the word coup to describe the events that occurred at the nation’s capitol. The word coup, in this context, is short for coup d’état, which literally means “stroke of state” in French. Due to its French origin, the final p is not pronounced, making the word sound identical to the word coo.https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1346947575975272448https://twitter.com/MaryLTrump/status/1346963110041505794https://twitter.com/RepPressley/status/1346937329928302593
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coup1
First recorded in 1640–50; from French: literally, “a blow, stroke,” Old French colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus, from Greek kólaphos
Origin of coup2
First recorded in 1350–1400; likely originally a variant of cope
Explanation
A coup is a pretty major achievement, whether it involves taking over a government by force, or landing a major business contract. When the word coup is used on the nightly news, it's usually describing a military government takeover. In the business section of the daily newspaper, coup might refer to a big corporation landing an important contract or deal. However you use the word coup, don't say the "p" at the end. It's not pronounced like chicken coop. It sounds more like a dove's coo.
Vocabulary lists containing coup
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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A Long Way Gone
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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.
See Examples For:
As Mr. Macintyre writes, a Soviet-backed coup in Iran was “the long-standing nightmare feared by Western intelligence.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Convincing a company to switch its listing exchange is viewed as a major coup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Commuting all death sentences to life in prison “would be the coup de grâce,” Farrell said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Was this a simple mutiny or an attempted coup?
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
There’d been nothing in the newspapers about a coup in Thailand; this was a genuine scoop.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Since coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali has been led by the military, which promised to restore calm in the vast desert nation that has been grappling with a security crisis since 2012.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
It also revived troubling memories of military coups from decades ago, in a country now viewed as a beacon of peaceful democracy in Asia.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso left Ecowas after military coups brought their armies to power.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
All three countries are currently led by military governments following a series of coups.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
If you wore special glasses you could see them spinning through the sky among the bats and homing birds—blondes, wars, famines, football, food shows, coups d’ etat, hairstyles stiff with hair spray.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
