cup
Americannoun
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cups
plural
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a small, open container made of china, glass, metal, paper, plastic, etc., sometimes having a handle and used chiefly as a receptacle from which to drink hot or cold beverages, soup, etc.
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the bowllike part of a goblet or the like.
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a cup with its contents.
You look exhausted—go sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea.
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the quantity contained in a cup.
He drank a cup of water before bed.
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a unit of capacity, equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 milliliters) or 16 tablespoons; half-pint.
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an ornamental bowl, vase, etc., especially of precious metal, offered as a prize for a contest.
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any of various beverages, such as a mixture of wine and other ingredients.
claret cup.
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the chalice used in the Eucharist.
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the wine of the Eucharist.
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something to be partaken of or endured; one's portion, as of joy or suffering.
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any cuplike utensil, organ, part, cavity, etc.
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either of the two forms that cover and usually support the breasts in a bra or other garment, such as a bathing suit.
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an athletic supporter reinforced with rigid plastic or metal for added protection.
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Golf.
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the metal receptacle within the hole.
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the hole itself.
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Astronomy. Cup, the constellation Crater.
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Metalworking. a cylindrical shell closed at one end, especially one produced in the first stages of a deep-drawing operation.
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Mathematics. the cuplike symbol ∪, used to indicate the union of two sets.
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Archaic. cups, the drinking of intoxicating liquors.
verb (used with object)
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cups,
present (3rd person singular)
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cupped,
past participle, past
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cupping
present participle
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to take or place in, or as in, a cup.
He cupped his ear with the palm of his hand.
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to form into a cuplike shape.
He cupped his hands.
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to use a cupping glass on.
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Metalworking. to form (tubing, containers, etc.) by punching hot strip or sheet metal and drawing it through a die.
idioms
noun
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a small open container, usually having one handle, used for drinking from
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the contents of such a container
that cup was too sweet
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Also called: teacup, cupful. a unit of capacity used in cooking equal to approximately half a pint, 8 fluid ounces, or about one quarter of a litre
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something resembling a cup in shape or function, such as the flower base of some plants of the rose family or a cuplike bodily organ
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either of two cup-shaped parts of a brassiere, designed to support the breasts
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a cup-shaped trophy awarded as a prize
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a sporting contest in which a cup is awarded to the winner
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( as modifier )
a cup competition
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a mixed drink with one ingredient as a base, usually served from a bowl
claret cup
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golf the hole or metal container in the hole on a green
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the chalice or the consecrated wine used in the Eucharist
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one's lot in life
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drunk
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informal one's chosen or preferred thing, task, company, etc
she's not my cup of tea
verb
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to form (something, such as the hands) into the shape of a cup
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to put into or as if into a cup
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archaic to draw blood to the surface of the body of (a person) by using a cupping glass
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cupsimple
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cupssimple
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have cuppedperfect
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has cuppedperfect
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am cuppingprogressive
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are cuppingprogressive
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is cuppingprogressive
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have been cuppingperfect progressive
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has been cuppingperfect progressive
Past
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cuppedsimple
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had cuppedperfect
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was cuppingprogressive
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were cuppingprogressive
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had been cuppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cup
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English cuppe, from Latin cuppa, variant of cūpa “cask, tub,” apparently akin to Greek kýpellon “goblet,” Sanskrit kūpa- “hole, vessel, well”
Explanation
A cup is a vessel used for drinking. Your grandmother might make it a habit never to go to bed without a cup of warm milk. A cup is like a small bowl with a handle. It's also a unit of measurement in cooking — if a recipe calls for a cup of water, it's the same as eight ounces. If you cup your hands, you form them into a cup shape, which you do when you hold a baby bird or cup your hand to whisper to your friend. If you say, "Polka music's not my cup of tea," it means you don't love it.
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.
See Examples For:
Before going to sleep, the women placed three drops of oil into a paper cup and breathed in the scent for 10 seconds.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
I can’t even think unless I have a cup of coffee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The description for the fundraiser remembered Rodriguez for his “easygoing warmth,” his affinity for race cars, baking and “a good cup of coffee.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
While vast clouds of flying bugs might not be everyone's cup of tea, scientists have been delighted to find that the Bogongs are back.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The next thing I knew, Betsie was standing at the foot of the bed, a steaming cup of herb tea in her hand.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Professional life is crowded with micro-signals — clothes, cups, phones, tone, timing, posture — ordinary things that remain perfectly neutral until someone decides they are evidence of character.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
A Starbucks spokesperson told MarketWatch the company increasingly sees its ancillary offerings — like cups and other gear — as collectibles.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
“We spent so many cups of coffee and walks talking about what that could be and what it could look like, and we really built it from the ground up,” Metzler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Could you stack 12 cups in under two seconds to become a European champ?
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
What if the glass fragments could be pieced together into the original cups, vases, dishes, and other glassware?
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Clarke threw his World Cup squad sheet on the table and cupped his ears to the assembled media.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
But one question kept resurfacing, from multiple corners of the inbox, as if readers were whispering it behind cupped hands: What if we just aren’t a pie family?
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
Van de Ven cheekily cupped his ear to the crowd before team-mates made a point of embracing him to show their support after Saturday's spat.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025
He cupped his ears as jeers rained down from the sold-out Honda Center in Anaheim.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
Gum Baby stood on the edge of the raft and cupped both hands around her mouth.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
When Allison Janney's name was announced as the winner for best supporting actress in drama, the camera panned to The Diplomat star with her mouth open and both hands cupping the sides of her face.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
She scraped my skin with firm, painful strokes, and then moved on to cupping, placing glass suction cups across my back and shoulders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Adherents swear by cupping therapy as a way to manage muscle pain and detoxify, but more spas are touting it as the ideal postflight treatment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
In addition to his usual routine, he’s tried cryotherapy, infrared therapy, massages with cupping — anything to keep inflammation down and ward away the nagging injuries that followed him over three years at Mississippi State.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
Citra pulled out her phone and projected a series of holograms into her palm, cupping it so no one but Rowan could see.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
