coitus

noun co·i·tus \ ˈkō-ə-təs , kō-ˈē- , ˈkȯi-təs \

Definition of coitus

: physical union of male and female genitalia accompanied by rhythmic movements : sexual intercourse 1 — compare orgasm

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coital

play \ˈkō-ə-tᵊl, kō-ˈē-, ˈkȯi-tᵊl\ adjective

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coitally

play \ˈkō-ə-tə-lē, kō-ˈē-, ˈkȯi-tə-\ adverb

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Examples of coitus in a Sentence

the act of coitus is the natural method by which conception occurs

Recent Examples of coitus from the Web

As for Veronica and Archie: after the couple’s coitus montage at the beginning of the episode, Archie told Veronica those three big words.

— laura bradley, HWD, "Did Riverdale Really Just Break Up Betty and Jughead—and Archie and Veronica?," 6 Dec. 2017
Keep in mind, this overt ode to coitus arrived smack-dab in the middle of the AIDS epidemic.

— lori majewski, Billboard, "What George Michael's First 'Faith' Single Taught Me About 'Sex'," 26 Oct. 2017
Every July 19, for Brent’s birthday, Miko buys a progressively outrageous erotic cake that usually depicts the couple in some form of coitus.

— jack dickey, SI.com, "Grimes Against Humanity: How Brent and Miko navigate their world of social media and the NFL," 13 July 2017
A femme fatale will even break off an active mating session to turn around and wolf down her paramour, mid-coitus.

— jason bittel, Smithsonian, "Illuminating the Secret Language of Lightning Bugs," 4 July 2017
Making onscreen sex play like something we haven't seen a million times already is always risky (just ask Abdellatif Kechiche, the maestro behind the spank-heavy bouts of coitus in 2013 Palme d'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color).

— jon frosch, The Hollywood Reporter, "'L'Amant double': Film Review | Cannes 2017," 25 May 2017
Love history boasts two key fatalities: 1) the hot young Turk whose coitus was interrupted in the most permanent way; 2) the beloved first husband (and sorta cousin) who met his demise in a car crash.

— louis bayard, New York Times, "‘Downton Abbey’ and History: A Look Back DEC. 31, 2014," 3 Mar. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coitus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of coitus

borrowed from Latin, "meeting, encounter, act of sexual intercourse," from coi-, variant stem of coīre "to come together, meet, have sexual intercourse" + -tus, suffix of verbal action — more at coition

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1845

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year