a couple
idiom
informal
1
: two or a few (of something)
Can you give me a couple more examples?
This one costs a couple dollars less than that one.
—In informal U.S. English, a couple can be used like a couple ofI lost interest in the book after a couple chapters.
We met a couple years ago.
2
: two or a few
"How many drinks have you had?" "Oh, just a couple."
Examples of a couple in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Once cicadas emerge from underground, their adult lifespan is relatively short, usually lasting a few weeks to a couple of months.
—
The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Luke Combs' love for Miller Lite and his visit to Miller Brewery
After getting into Milwaukee Wednesday morning, Combs hung out at the Brewers stadium for a couple of hours, worked out, then was off to the Miller Brewery.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
And the technology is evolving quickly (see: OpenAI’s Sora, which can create hyperrealistic clips from a couple of text prompts).
—Dan Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
After a couple of confirmation screens, you're done.
—David Nield, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
My mom passed away in 2023 after gradually declining from Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and myelodysplastic syndrome for a couple of years.
—Phoebe Zerwick, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Aside from prices falling in only a couple of categories — used and new cars as well as fuel oil — or remaining flat (grocery store food), prices rose in pretty much every major category last month.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
The team has to have some adults in the room, and not just veterans who might be acquired In the next year or two, only to be sent off in a couple of years.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
This happens about once every six months, and her anger lasts for a couple of weeks.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Luke Combs' love for Miller Lite and his visit to Miller Brewery
After getting into Milwaukee Wednesday morning, Combs hung out at the Brewers stadium for a couple of hours, worked out, then was off to the Miller Brewery.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
And the technology is evolving quickly (see: OpenAI’s Sora, which can create hyperrealistic clips from a couple of text prompts).
—Dan Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
After a couple of confirmation screens, you're done.
—David Nield, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
My mom passed away in 2023 after gradually declining from Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia and myelodysplastic syndrome for a couple of years.
—Phoebe Zerwick, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Aside from prices falling in only a couple of categories — used and new cars as well as fuel oil — or remaining flat (grocery store food), prices rose in pretty much every major category last month.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
The team has to have some adults in the room, and not just veterans who might be acquired In the next year or two, only to be sent off in a couple of years.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
This happens about once every six months, and her anger lasts for a couple of weeks.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a couple.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near a couple
Cite this Entry
“A couple.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20couple. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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