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

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Etymology

Origin of decouple

First recorded in 1595–1605; de- + couple

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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 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

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

Much like countries have been unwilling to decouple from China, they are finding ways to maintain ties with the world’s largest economy.

From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026

Previous attempts to explain why matter prevailed over antimatter generally left out the decoupled heavy neutrino.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 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

Mastering refrigerated transport and storage decoupled society from its local geography, allowing the cattle ranges of the American West to feed the East Coast via insulated, ice-cooled railcars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

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

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

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

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

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

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

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

From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Samuel Vaknin

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