coupon

[koo-pon, kyoo-]

noun

1. a portion of a certificate, ticket, label, advertisement, or the like, set off from the main body by dotted lines or the like to emphasize its separability, entitling the holder to something, as a gift or discount, or for use as an order blank, a contest entry form, etc.

2. a separate certificate, ticket, etc., for the same purpose.

3. Finance.,  one of a number of small detachable certificates calling for periodic interest payments on a bearer bond.

4. Metallurgy.,  a sample of metal or metalwork submitted to a customer or testing agency for approval.

coupon

/ ˈkuːpɒn /

noun

1. 1. a detachable part of a ticket or advertisement entitling the holder to a discount, free gift, etc

   2. a detachable slip usable as a commercial order form

   3. a voucher given away with certain goods, a certain number of which are exchangeable for goods offered by the manufacturers

2. one of a number of detachable certificates attached to a bond, esp a bearer bond, the surrender of which entitles the bearer to receive interest payments

3. one of several detachable cards used for making hire-purchase payments

4. a ticket issued to facilitate rationing

5. a detachable entry form for any of certain competitions, esp football pools

Pronunciation Note

Coupon, related to cope and coup, is of French origin. It has developed an American pronunciation variant with an unhistorical y -sound not justified by the spelling. This pronunciation is used by educated speakers and is well-established as perfectly standard, although it is sometimes criticized. Its development may have been encouraged by analogy with words like curious, cupid, and cute, where c is followed by a “long u ” and the is mandatory.

Other Word Forms

• couponless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coupon¹

1815–25; < French; Old French colpon piece cut off, equivalent to colp(er) to cut ( cope ¹ ) + -on noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of coupon¹

C19: from French, from Old French colpon piece cut off, from colper to cut, variant of couper; see _cope ¹

Example Sentences

The government has rolled out targeted measures aimed at boosting purchases of cars, appliances and services, and local governments have experimented with coupons and subsidies.

Read more on MarketWatch

The three of them proceed to talk about boring stuff like stock markets, coupons, and whatever else adults like gossiping about.

Read more on Literature

Having a premium card today is almost like being handed a coupon book, given the array of retailer credits and rewards they’re offering.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Others are using more coupons and choosing private-label products, which tend to be cheaper.

Read more on Salon

Certain credits are parceled out quarterly or even monthly, and premium cards can have the feel of a coupon book.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advertisement 
• card 
• certificate 
• voucher