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 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
After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
These guppies also attempted to sneakily copulate with the females more often.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 July 2025
Male bees are fooled by these lookalikes and will attempt to copulate with them and, in doing so, will spread the pollen of the orchid.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025
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.
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
These guppies also attempted to sneakily copulate with the females more often.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 July 2025
Male bees are fooled by these lookalikes and will attempt to copulate with them and, in doing so, will spread the pollen of the orchid.
—The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for copulate
Cite this Entry
“Copulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/copulate. Accessed 26 Feb. 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
