copulate

[ verb kop-yuh-leyt; adjective kop-yuh-lit ]

/ verb ˈkɒp yəˌleɪt; adjective ˈkɒp yə lɪt /

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verb (used without object), cop·u·lat·ed, cop·u·lat·ing.

to engage in sexual intercourse.

adjective

connected; joined.

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Origin of copulate

1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin cōpulātus bound together. See copula, -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM copulate

cop·u·la·to·ry

[kop-yuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈkɒp yə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use copulate in a sentence

Male spiders practice how to copulate fast enough to get away from a female before other males attack them.
Why It Pays to Play Around - Issue 94: Evolving|Andreas Wagner|December 16, 2020|Nautilus
Seitz saw an antelope six weeks old making copulatory movements.
The Sexual Life of the Child|Albert Moll
And also for the copulatory organs which also become more and more female.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
When trapped two days later, she had a copulatory plug, and 21 days after this she was found with a newborn litter in a trap.
Aspects of Reproduction and Development in the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)|Henry S. Fitch

The pelvic fins in the male bear long grooved cartilaginous rods which are accessory copulatory organs or claspers.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
It lodges the copulatory organ, and on its dorsal wall lies the bursa Fabricii, an organ peculiar to birds.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for copulate

copulate

/ (ˈkɒpjʊˌleɪt) /

verb

(intr) to perform sexual intercourse

Derived forms of copulate

copulation, nouncopulatory, adjective

Word Origin for copulate

C17: from Latin copulāre to join together; see copula

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

copulate

Origin of copulate

OTHER WORDS FROM copulate

Words related to copulate

How to use copulate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for copulate

Derived forms of copulate

Word Origin for copulate