copulation
Americannoun
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sexual intercourse.
-
a joining together or coupling.
Etymology
Origin of copulation
1350–1400; Middle English copulacion < Latin cōpulātiōn- (stem of copulātio ) a binding together. See copulate, -ion
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.
Female black widow spiders eat males following copulation.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
A praying mantis consumes her mate after copulation, termites suck blood out of wounded peers, and mosquitoes snack on larvae.
From New York Times • Mar. 25, 2022
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
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
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.
