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PlainSpell

couple

/ˈkʌp.əl/noun, adjective, determiner, verb

couple is spelled C-O-U-P-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 155 times per million words in written English, the 657th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, couple means “Two of the same kind connected or considered together” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of couple is couples.

How many letters and syllables are in couple?

Letters6: C-O-U-P-L-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing155 times per million words; the 657th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is couple?

Couple appears 155 times per million words in written English, the 657th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce couple?

  • /ˈkʌp.əl/
  • [ˈkʌp.ɫ̩]
  • /ˈkə.pᵻl/

Couple has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-couple.ogg, En-us-couple.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of couple

  • couples plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • coupling participle, present
  • coupled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does couple mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Two of the same kind connected or considered together.

    A couple of police officers appeared at the door.

  2. 2

    Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.

  3. 3

    informalA small number.

  4. 4

    One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.

  5. 5

    A turning effect created by forces that produce a non-zero external torque.

  6. 6

    A couple-close.

  7. 7

    That which joins or links two things together; a bond or tie; a coupler.

adjective

  1. 1

    CanadaUSinformalTwo or (a) small number of.

determiner

  1. 1

    CanadaUScolloquialTwo or a few, a small number of.

    A couple fewer people show up every week.

verb

  1. 1

    To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another).

    Now the conductor will couple the train cars.

  2. 2

    datedTo join in wedlock; to marry.

  3. 3

    To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate.

  4. 4

    To cause (two animals) to copulate, to bring (two animals) together for mating.

  5. 5

    To enter (multiple horses with the same owner) into a race so that a single bet can be placed on any of them winning.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate couple?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of couple: cpl.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Couple in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcouple, paire, époux (two partners), quelques, deux ou trois... (a small number of), coupler (to join together)
GermanPaar (two partners), einige, ein paar (a small number of)
Portuguesecasal (two partners), poucos, alguns (a small number of), acoplar (to join together), dupla, par (two of the same kind considered together)
Spanishpareja (two partners), un par de, unos (a small number of), acoplar (to join together), par (two of the same kind considered together), par de fuerzas (two forces that are equal in magnitude but…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does couple come from?

From Middle English couple, from Old French couple, from Latin cōpula. Doublet of copula.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after couple