tup
Americannoun
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Chiefly British. a male sheep; ram.
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the head of a falling hammerlike mechanism, as of a steam hammer or pile driver.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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an uncastrated male sheep; ram
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the head of a pile-driver or steam hammer
verb
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to cause (a ram) to mate with a ewe, or (of a ram) to mate with (a ewe)
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dialect to butt (someone), as in a fight
Etymology
Origin of tup
1300–50; Middle English tope, tupe ram, of obscure origin
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:
Originally from the root tap, Gr. tup, to strike lightly.
From Six Centuries of English Poetry Tennyson to Chaucer by James Baldwin
Michael: Better a sound tup than a spavined nag.
From Krindlesyke by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson
Troth, Jenny, that ewe will waur ye; 'od I think ye hae gotten haud o' the auld tup himsel.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 10 by Various
"He'll be a Teviotdale tup tat ane," said the chairman, "tat's for keeping ta crown o' ta causeway tat gate—he'll no gang far or he'll get somebody to bell ta cat wi' him."
From Guy Mannering by Sir Walter Scott
Shearling, Shear hog, Heeder, Diamond or Dinmont ram, or tup, and, when castrated, a Shearing wether.
From A Treatise on Sheep: The Best Means for their Improvement, General Management, and the Treatment of their Diseases. by Ambrose Blacklock
He said he witnessed a goat mating with ewes on his farm during "tupping" season five months ago, but had given the matter little thought until the geep appeared,
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2014
Breeding Ewes.—After the tupping season, which generally lasts for a month, the sheep are usually put on a pasture, which need not be very rich.
From The Stock-Feeder's Manual the chemistry of food in relation to the breeding and feeding of live stock by Sir Charles Alexander Cameron
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.
