coping

n. uncountable

B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈkoʊpɪŋ// UK //kˈəʊpɪŋ// cop·ing

n. the way you deal with difficult situations or stress. It is the effort you make to stay calm and solve problems when life gets hard.

n. the process of managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize, reduce or tolerate stress or conflict.

SIMPLE

Exercise is a healthy coping mechanism for many people.

CONTEXTUAL

The therapist taught her several new coping strategies to manage her anxiety during high-pressure work meetings.

COMPLEX

Psychologists distinguish between active coping, which involves direct action to change a stressor, and avoidant coping, which focuses on emotional withdrawal from the problem.

Synonyms

Origin

From cope + -ing. The sense referring to a brick wall is cope (sense 2), used in the sense "dress in a cope," "to cover."

Usage

Often used as a modifier in compound nouns like 'coping mechanism' or 'coping strategy'.