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).

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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

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Other Word Forms

• decoupler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of decouple

First recorded in 1595–1605; de- + couple

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decouple decoupled decoupling

“The Catcher in the Rye” is a text that is flatly impossible to decouple from its author: A book about trauma written in the midst of trauma by a traumatized man.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

It is impossible to decouple the Dodgers’ success from what it could mean for the sport’s future.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid laid out a few in commentary shared with MarketWatch on Wednesday, where he noted that stocks have started to decouple from crude-oil prices while bonds continued to trade in lock step.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 15, 2026

Ahead of boarding the plane on Tuesday night, Merz said Germany would continue its broader de-risking policy but that, "it would be a mistake for us to seek to decouple ourselves from China".

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

“We view this as an acceleration of policies looking to decouple U.S.-China biotech,” Raymond James healthcare policy analyst Chris Meekins wrote this week.

From Barron's ● Dec. 9, 2025

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

Meta’s AI future can’t be decoupled from its social-media future.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

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

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

But they also raise the risk of new policy mistakes, especially if employment is decoupled from growth.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 4, 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

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

The result is an awkward kind of decoupling for crypto bulls.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026

"Any delusion of full decoupling isn't realistic on any near-term horizon", she told AFP.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

Even before the Iran crisis, this business was taking the shine off China’s tentative progress in decoupling growth from fossil-fuel consumption.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

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

From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Vaknin, Samuel