coup
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a sudden, often violent, move by a group of people to take control of a country's government.
n.a sudden, illegal seizure of power from a government, typically by a small group or the military.
Simple“The military led a coup and took control of the capital overnight.”
In context“Following months of civil unrest, the army staged a bloodless coup, ousting the president and suspending the constitution.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'stage', 'lead', or 'plot'.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to take control of a country by force.
v.to subject a nation or administration to a coup d'état.
Simple“The rebels tried to coup the government but failed after two days.”
In context“Political analysts debated whether the faction had the logistical support required to successfully coup the ruling regime.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to tilt or empty something out, like a cart.
v.to overturn, tilt, or empty out a container or vehicle.
Simple“He couped the cart to get the dirt out.”
In context“The worker couped the barrow, spilling the gravel across the driveway in a single motion.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is specific to Northern England and Scotland; most English speakers will use 'tip' or 'dump' instead.
“It was one of the reasons given for Goïta leading a coup in 2021 but attacks by jihadist groups have continued and even increased.”
“Removing them from the UK would therefore be a major political coup for Burnham.”
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).
From Middle English coupen (“to buy; (figuratively) to pay for”), from Old Norse kaupa (“to buy, bargain, barter, exchange”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.