coup
French, noun/ku/
coup is spelled C-O-U-P (4 letters) and appears 355 times per million words in written French, the 229th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Coup is a French masculine noun meaning “sound of the action” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant”.
What does coup mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinesound of the action
coup de tonnerre
- 2
masculinephysical consequences of the action (marks)
marqué de coups
- 3
masculinefast and instantaneous action
jeter un coup d'œil
- 4
masculineload, shot
pistolet à six coups
- 5
masculinebit (small quantity)
mettre un coup de peinture
- 6
masculineplanned action
préparer son coup
- 7
masculinea short sequence of action within a game; a move or play
- 8
masculinea time, a try, an instance
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant. 2. Se dit en parlant des choses qui nuisent, qui causent un sentiment pénible, etc. 3. Décharge et bruit que font les armes à feu lorsqu’on les tire. 4. Évènement imprévu qui a frappé quelqu’un soudainement.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of coup
- coups plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce coup?
- /ku/
- \ku\
- [ku]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to coup
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is coup in French?
coup appears 355 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).