copulation

American  

[kop-yuh-ley-shuhn] / ˌkɒp yəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. sexual intercourse.

2. a joining together or coupling.

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Etymology

Origin of copulation

1350–1400; Middle English copulacion < Latin cōpulātiōn- (stem of copulātio ) a binding together. See copulate, -ion

Explanation

Copulation is a word for sex — a more scientific way of saying "sexual intercourse." You can use this word to describe the sexual practices of both humans and animals. Zoologists need to make sure there is copulation among endangered animals such as pandas. Stray animals like cats engage in a lot of copulation, which is why there are so many cats. If your female dog is not fixed and copulates at the park, you might have puppies on the way soon.

Example Sentences

Snails also exhibit no outward gender identity until the moment of copulation.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2021

This "forced extra-pair copulation," as it's known, is a fairly rare strategy across birds as a whole.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2021

Further experiments backed the theory that the drug was affecting ovulation through a mechanism involved in copulation and entailing the nervous system, rather than acting directly on the ovaries or other routes.

From The Guardian • Sep. 30, 2019

The difficulty of securing enough calories to fabricate an ootheca may help explain why females of some mantid species famously engage in sexual cannibalism — consuming their mates after, or even during, copulation.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2017

In the laboratory, male gypsy moths have attempted copulation with chips of wood, vermiculite, and other small, inanimate objects, so long as they were suitably impregnated with gyplure.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• intercourse
• procreation
• sexual intercourse