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:
And, notably, they eat Cane’s, whether it’s buying entire orders of just Texas toast or dunking their entire hand into a fountain cup of Cane’s Sauce and licking it off their fingers.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
"If these things didn't exist, you'd be outside of society. A cup of coffee on my current benefits is more than what I get on my daily allowance."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Recent cup winners Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt start their cup journeys against lower league opposition on Friday, while holders Bayern Munich play on September 2.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The menu includes salt-and-pepper chicken skins with sweet-and-sour sauce and something called the Viet Dip, a sandwich served with a little cup of pho jus.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
I lurch forward, my stomach crashing into the smoothie cup.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
The useful unit isn’t a prescribed number of ounces or cups; it’s however much your household ordinarily reaches for when making one meal.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
"We can't even fill the coffee cups to the brim or they spill," his son Linus, 19, added with an air of amused exasperation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
He said there "were two cups of tea" in the house that had hardly been drunk, giving the impression "that she'd invited somebody in".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Many of my projects can be traced back to this space,” he told me, citing the several cups of coffee he’s shared there with collaborators and curators from spaces like Compton Museum and Color Compton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Each adult chicken will drink approximately 2 cups of water per day.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
The Warrington teenager cupped his ears to lap up the adulation of a delirious crowd while fellow Englishman Aspinall laughed in disbelief before he gave Littler a high five.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
As she spoke, Lina's face creased and she cupped it in her hands.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
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
Harris leaned down, Simon said, cupped the girl’s face in her hands and kissed her on the forehead:
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2024
Ella started to explain that she was a Conjuror, but Lian cupped her hands together, and a tiny ball of light appeared.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Often, like in my treatment in Singapore, cupping is paired with gua sha, creating a push and pull on the skin.
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
And that alone is worth making like Lee and cupping my own hands around my mouth for an enthusiastic yell.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
But the seventh seed used the crowd to his advantage in the tie-break, conducting them after hitting a sublime backhand pass and cupping his ear after a deft volley brought up two match points.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2025
He is cupping his hands and shouting through them.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
