coup

[ koo ]

/ ku /

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noun, plural coups [kooz; French koo]. /kuz; French ku/.

a highly successful, unexpected stroke, act, or move; a clever action or accomplishment.

(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.

coup d'état.

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Idioms for coup

count coup, (among Plains Indians of North America)

to perform a coup.
to recount or relate the coups one has performed.

Origin of coup

1640–50; <French: literally, blow, stroke, Old French colp<Late Latin colpus,Latin colaphus<Greek kólaphos

Definition for coup (2 of 2)

coup²

[ kohp, koop ]

/ koʊp, kup /

verb (used with or without object) Scot.

overturn; upset.

Origin of coup

1350–1400; Middle English coupe to pay for <Old Norse kaupa to buy, barter; cognate with Old English cēapian,German kaufen.See cheap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for coup

However, there have been plenty of death threats against a wide range of state leaders, including Republicans resisting the coup.
Are we entering a new era of political violence?|Sean Illing|January 7, 2021|Vox
Democracy is still standing and the nation is getting back to work, so let’s press forward, even if it does feel surreal to cover business news after witnessing a live-streamed coup attempt.
With 5 new unicorns in first week of 2021, are we in for a stampede this year?|Alex Wilhelm|January 7, 2021|TechCrunch
The power of precedence, the comforting illusion of a stable history, the fantasy that our institutions were so just and well ordered that nothing could shake them, might well have seemed a bulwark against today’s attempted coup.
The Capitol mob images shouldn’t surprise you. Open insurrection was always where we were headed.|Philip Kennicott|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
The movie’s depiction of the critic’s ecstasy was a cartoon coup — and served as inspiration, in point of fact, for one of “Hamilton’s” most spectacular numbers, “Satisfied.”
Judy and Mickey would have loved the TikTok ‘Ratatouille’ — 2021’s answer to ‘Let’s put on a show!’|Peter Marks|January 2, 2021|Washington Post

He bought up so much top-flight real estate in the neighborhood that fashion insiders joked he could have mounted a coup d’etat.
Pierre Cardin, legendary fashion designer and licensing genius, dies at 98|Bernhard Warner|December 29, 2020|Fortune
Stocks of Trees "couped and eradicated" are by no means uncommon.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
His coach couped in the Vennel, and his lordship was thrown head foremost into the mud.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol IV.|Editors: Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton
Occasionally it will be found couped, but it is then, as a rule, only occupying the position of a subsidiary charge.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
As usually borne by the Cunninghame family the ends are couped and pointed, but in some cases it is borne throughout.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Crest: a cornucopia fesswise, surmounted by a dexter hand couped proper, holding a key in bend sinister or.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

British Dictionary definitions for coup (1 of 3)

coup¹

/ (kuː) /

noun

a brilliant and successful stroke or action

short for coup d'état

Word Origin for coup

C18: from French: blow, from Latin colaphus blow with the fist, from Greek kolaphos

British Dictionary definitions for coup (2 of 3)

coup²

cowp

Scot

verb

to turn or fall over

noun

a rubbish tip

Word Origin for coup

C15: perhaps identical with obsolete cope to strike; see cope 1

British Dictionary definitions for coup (3 of 3)

coup³

/ (kaʊp) /

verb

Scot to barter; traffic; deal

Word Origin for coup

C14: from Old Norse kaupa to buy

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

Cultural definitions for coup

coup

[ (kooh) ]

In politics, an abbreviation for coup d'état.

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coup

noun, plural coups [kooz; French koo]. /kuz; French ku/.