coup

/kuː/

//kuː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"coup" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coup” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,113. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,113
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coup · coup · English

coup · rank #7,113 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,113
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cottage

Nearest frequency peer: cottage (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “coup”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “coup” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

coup vs cp
50% similar
coup vs CU
0% similar
coup vs cut
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for coup
PropertyValue
Headwordcoup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#7,113
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “coup” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). coup lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around coup (IPA /kuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,113 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for coup, with forms such as "ccoup", "copu", and "coupp". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cp", "CU", "cut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Reborrowed in modern times from modern French coup (“blow, strike”), from Old French coup, colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus. Doublet of cope and colpus. The same Old French word had been borrowed into Middle English as coupe, caupe (with di… The correct English form is coup, spelled C-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.
  2. 2
    Of Native Americans, a blow against an enemy delivered in a way that demonstrates bravery.
  3. 3
    A coup d'état.
  4. 4
    A takeover of one group by another.
  5. 5
    A single roll of the wheel at roulette, or a deal in rouge et noir.
  6. 6
    One of various named strategies employed by the declarer to win more tricks, such as the Bath coup.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how coup appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The conference was a major coup for Robarts, who received congratulations for his 'expert handling' of the 'risky venture.'
  2. While the price was considered a coup for Morgan, enhancing his reputation on Wall Street, Carnegie had a different explanation for his selling price.

Etymology

Reborrowed in modern times from modern French coup (“blow, strike”), from Old French coup, colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus. Doublet of cope and colpus. The same Old French word had been borrowed into Middle English as coupe, caupe (with different pronunciation).

This word in other languages

Coup(Deutsch)golpe(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoup
  • copu
  • coupp
  • cuop
  • ocup

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of coup - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccoup1copu2coupp1cuop2ocup2
Edit distance from "coup"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coup"?
"coup" is spelled C-O-U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /kuː/.
What does "coup" mean?
As a noun, "coup" means: A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.
What words are commonly confused with "coup"?
"coup" is commonly confused with "cp", "CU", "cut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coup"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coup" is /kuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "coup"?
Reborrowed in modern times from modern French coup (“blow, strike”), from Old French coup, colp, from Late Latin colpus, from Latin colaphus. Doublet of cope and colpus. The same Old French word had been borrowed into Middle English as coupe, caup... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "coup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dash#7,116chin#7,106chan#7,105wipe#7,086

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Java5 variantsnude5 variantssail5 variantspulls5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "coup". Here's where to go from here.

  • "coup" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cp". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,113 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list