1
: a cage or small enclosure (as for poultry)
also
: a small building for housing poultry
2
a
: a confined area
b
: jail
cooped; cooping; coops
1
: to confine in a restricted and often crowded area
—usually used with up
children cooped up in the house all day
2
: to place or keep in a coop : pen
—often used with up
Examples of coop in a Sentence
Noun (1)
was thrown in the coop for disturbing the peace
a chicken coop
Verb
restless kids cooped up in the house on a rainy day
Recent Examples on the Web
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
Police later found Houston hiding in a nearby chicken coop, according to court documents obtained by Arizona’s Family.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Brendan I. Koerner, Wired, 19 May 2020
Three relative strangers cooped up underground indefinitely to avoid an unseen danger, who don't entirely trust each other?
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 May 2020
Robert Frank, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
The ambitious approach to the series featured the first-ever open-world campaign, and 343 Industries had plans to regularly add to it for years with story DLC, split-screen co-op (which it was supposed to launch with), and more.
—Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coop
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Noun
Contact your local university coop extension service (find yours here) for identification.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 22 Oct. 2025
Police later found Houston hiding in a nearby chicken coop, according to court documents obtained by Arizona’s Family.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
Instead of battling for an all-star berth in his final Little League season or attending Don Mattingly Bobblehead Night at Yankee Stadium, he’s been forced to spend the spring cooped up in a neighborhood where ambulance sirens have wailed nonstop.
—Brendan I. Koerner, Wired, 19 May 2020
Three relative strangers cooped up underground indefinitely to avoid an unseen danger, who don't entirely trust each other?
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 May 2020
Noun
While the data didn’t include co-ops, analysts say co-op prices have generally fared the same or slightly worse than condos.
—Robert Frank, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025
The ambitious approach to the series featured the first-ever open-world campaign, and 343 Industries had plans to regularly add to it for years with story DLC, split-screen co-op (which it was supposed to launch with), and more.
—Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coop
Cite this Entry
“Coop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coop. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coop
2 of 3 verb
: to place or keep in or as if in a coop
co-op
3 of 3 nounˈkō-ˌäp,
kō-ˈäp
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