uncouple
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release the coupling or link between; disconnect; let go.
to uncouple railroad cars.
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to end (a romantic relationship or marriage).
Their marriage was uncoupled by financial problems.
verb (used without object)
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to become unfastened; let go.
The glider uncoupled from the tow plane.
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to end a romantic relationship or marriage.
My sister and her boyfriend have uncoupled after ten years together.
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(of a romantic relationship or marriage) to end.
verb
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to disconnect or unfasten or become disconnected or unfastened
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(tr) to set loose; release
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have uncoupledperfect
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has uncoupledperfect 3rd person singular
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is uncouplingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been uncouplingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am uncouplingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been uncouplingperfect progressive
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are uncouplingprogressive
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uncouplingparticiple
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uncouplessingular 3rd person
Past
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had uncoupledperfect
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were uncouplingprogressive plural
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was uncouplingprogressive singular
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had been uncouplingperfect progressive
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uncoupledparticiple
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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
"But in economics, we know that if payments are directly tied to penalties, that's restrictive, and it can't be optimal. So, we said, let's uncouple them and see what solution would happen."
From Science Daily • May 15, 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
Before Dempsey’s Robert can kiss the girl, he has to uncouple from Idina Menzel’s Nancy.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2020
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.
