decouple

American  

[dee-kuhp-uhl] / diˈkʌp əl /

verb (used with object)

decoupled, decoupling

1. to cause to become separated, disconnected, or divergent; uncouple.

2. to absorb the shock of (a nuclear explosion).

   a surrounding mass of earth and rock can decouple a nuclear blast.

3. Electronics. to loosen or eliminate the coupling of (a signal between two circuits).

---

verb (used without object)

decoupled, decoupling

1. to separate or diverge from an existing connection; uncouple.

decouple British  

/ ˌdiːˈkʌpəl /

verb

1. (tr) to separate (joined or coupled subsystems) thereby enabling them to exist and operate separately

---

Other Word Forms

• decoupler
  noun

---

Etymology

Origin of decouple

First recorded in 1595–1605; de- + couple

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decouple decoupled decoupling

Researchers often protect quantum memories from environmental interference using microwave pulses that separate, or decouple, the memory from surrounding noise.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

Developing their own software around AI models—a practice he calls “harness engineering”—gives businesses a way to decouple their workflows from the models themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

"The industry is moving very quickly into a world where it's not really possible anymore to decouple the historical-agricultural land use from the solar."

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

The longer the blackout continues, the more market action continues to decouple from fundamentals and turn toward narrative-driven flows and momentum on unwarranted fundamentals.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2025

“Tina” doesn’t entirely decouple Ike from Turner’s story, a fact she knows is impossible and with which she comes to terms.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2021

To date, almost all states have maintained their previous mandates or otherwise decoupled their policies from the federal recommendations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Stocks have decoupled from oil prices; S&P 500 fell over 1.4%, and the Nasdaq is down around 3%.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

"Their mobility costs are decoupled from international oil markets."

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

If the merger happens, Union Pacific says it could build more trains specifically for destinations on the Eastern seaboard, reducing the need for railcars to be decoupled at a busy interchange.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025

What made the scheme novel was that for the first time it decoupled a test moratorium from all other disarmament issues, thereby removing the major cause of the deadlock between the two countries.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

This week, Mamdani said that he remains committed to eliminating the unit and decoupling response to protests from counterterrorism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

But decoupling from the US altogether would seem unrealistic - for both Canada and the EU.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Policymakers may be able to use these insights to develop shared stockpiling programs, diversify refining and manufacturing capacity, and better assess the broader effects of trade restrictions or economic decoupling strategies.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026

That diversion is further proof that decoupling is real: Beijing is rerouting goods because the U.S. market has grown too expensive to serve directly.

From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026

Finally, they go, it will accept decoupling and modulation.

From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Samuel Vaknin

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---