coup

1 of 2

noun

plural coups ˈküz How to pronounce coup (audio)
1
: a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics and especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group : coup d'état
In its first few hours, the coup seemed a terrifying confirmation of the power of the military, the police and, especially, the KGB.David Remnick
By nightfall, the troops had freed the captured President and ended the six-day-old coup, a military spokesman said.Marlise Simons
2
: a brilliant, sudden, and usually highly successful stroke or act
It's an impressive coup for the NCAA and its corporate sponsors to snag an artist with Springsteen's cachet for this event.Chris Strauss
From time to time, the conspiracy groupies pull off a huge disinformation coup.Alex Kozinski
Foreseeing a publicity coup, chairman Roger Smith was determined to exhibit an electric car at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 1990.Mark Fischetti
see also coup de grâce

coup

2 of 2

verb

couped; couping; coups
chiefly Scotland

Examples of coup in a Sentence

Noun It was a major coup when they got the Vice President to appear on their show for an interview. winning that big contract was a real coup
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
President Park Chun-hee, a military dictator who took power in a coup d’etat in 1963, suggested that the company make the broth spicy in order to appeal to Korean palates. Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Around the same time, police uncovered a network of conspiracy theorists with far-right links, who had devised a violent and fantastical plot to storm Germany’s Parliament in the hopes of triggering a coup. Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 After a military coup in 1967, Constantine and his family fled to Rome, and the military regime appointed a regent to take his place. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 Since the Niger coup in July, activity at the base has been limited to surveillance for protection of U.S. forces. Rachel Chason and Michael Birnbaum The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2024 In the weeks before the assassination, whispers circulated inside the president’s entourage about an impending coup, according to testimony gathered by Voltaire. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2024 This French insurgency gave Tiffany his first big public relations coup; the trans-Atlantic cable would be his second. Robert Klara, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024 This painting was made four years after the coup, when Vicuña was living in exile in Bogotá, Colombia. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024 Clear coups commemorate camping when the temperature drops below zero. Richard Espinoza, Kansas City Star, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
First, their sign up offer is excellent as new users can re-coup up to $1,000 in free bets if their bet losses. Doug Ziefel, Chicago Tribune, 2 Dec. 2022 This year's pace car is the second consecutive Chevy's Corvette Stingray, with last year's 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray coup the choice. Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 11 May 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, blow, stroke — more at cope entry 1

Verb

Middle English, to strike, from Anglo-French couper — more at cope entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

circa 1572, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of coup was circa 1572

Dictionary Entries Near coup

Cite this Entry

“Coup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coup. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coup

noun
ˈkü
plural coups
ˈküz
1
: a brilliant, sudden, and usually highly successful action
2
Etymology

Noun

from French coup "blow, stroke"

Medical Definition

coup

noun
: injury occurring on the side of an organ (as the brain) on which a blow or impact is received compare contrecoup

More from Merriam-Webster on coup

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