uncouple
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to release the coupling or link between; disconnect; let go.
to uncouple railroad cars.
-
to end (a romantic relationship or marriage).
Their marriage was uncoupled by financial problems.
verb (used without object)
-
to become unfastened; let go.
The glider uncoupled from the tow plane.
-
to end a romantic relationship or marriage.
My sister and her boyfriend have uncoupled after ten years together.
-
(of a romantic relationship or marriage) to end.
verb
-
to disconnect or unfasten or become disconnected or unfastened
-
(tr) to set loose; release
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has uncoupledperfect 3rd person singular
-
have uncoupledperfect
-
are uncouplingprogressive
-
have been uncouplingperfect progressive
-
uncouplingparticiple
-
is uncouplingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
uncouplessingular 3rd person
-
has been uncouplingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am uncouplingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
-
had uncoupledperfect
-
had been uncouplingperfect progressive
-
was uncouplingprogressive singular
-
were uncouplingprogressive plural
-
uncoupledparticiple
-
uncoupledsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of uncouple
Vocabulary lists containing uncouple
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.
If you uncouple your net worth from your self-worth, navigating finances becomes less sensitive.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026
In cancer cells, however, we often observe that subdomains uncouple, resulting in erroneous attachments and chromosome segregation errors.'
From Science Daily • May 13, 2024
Who can forget when Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and her then-husband, musician Chris Martin, announced in 2014 that they would consciously uncouple?
From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2022
The shock, embarrassment and sadness of having to cancel my wedding and uncouple my life from my ex’s was just beginning to ease.
From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2021
Instead of getting in there and taking things over, couldn’t we learn to disconnect altogether, uncouple, detach, and float free?
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
