Examples of copulate in a Sentence
Some animals have complex mating rituals before they copulate.
the time of year when deer in the wild are likely to copulate
Recent Examples on the Web
In Second Nature, scientists theorize that Darwin couldn’t help but impose his own heterosexual ideations on animal reproduction, mainly that animals only copulate for the purposes of reproduction, with males being the aggressors and females fluttering their eyelids behind lace fans, or something.
—
Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026
And finally, wouldn’t being near-perfectly still for an hour make a pair of copulating octopuses ridiculously exposed to predators?
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2026
Maybe she is beset by need to copulate, by the desire of the eggs inside her for their own plot of land.
—María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
In November 1995, Funston took a 5-year-old boy into some bushes, pulled down his pants and orally copulated him, prosecutors said.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for copulate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2026
And finally, wouldn’t being near-perfectly still for an hour make a pair of copulating octopuses ridiculously exposed to predators?
—Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2026
Maybe she is beset by need to copulate, by the desire of the eggs inside her for their own plot of land.
—María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
In November 1995, Funston took a 5-year-old boy into some bushes, pulled down his pants and orally copulated him, prosecutors said.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for copulate
Cite this Entry
“Copulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copulate. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
copulate
intransitive verb
cop·u·late
ˈkäp-yə-ˌlāt 
copulated; copulating
1
: to engage in sexual intercourse
2
of gametes
: to fuse permanently compare conjugate sense 1
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
