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[kuhp-ling] /ˈkʌp lɪŋ/

noun
1.
the act of a person or thing that couples.
2.
Machinery.

3.
Railroads. (def 3).
4.
Electricity.

5.
a short length of plumbing pipe having each end threaded on the inside.
6.
the part of the body between the tops of the shoulder blades and the tops of the hip joints in a dog, horse, etc.
7.
(def 5).
[kuhp-uh l] /ˈkʌp əl/
noun
1.
two of the same sort considered together; pair.
2.
two persons considered as joined together, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners:
They make a handsome couple.
3.
any two persons considered together.
4.
Mechanics. a pair of equal, parallel forces acting in opposite directions and tending to produce rotation.
5.
Also called couple-close. Carpentry. a pair of rafters connected by a tie beam or collar beam.
6.
a leash for holding two hounds together.
7.
Fox Hunting. two hounds:
25 hounds or 12½ couple.
verb (used with object), coupled, coupling.
8.
to fasten, link, or associate together in a pair or pairs.
9.
to join; connect.
10.
to unite in marriage or in sexual union.
11.
Electricity.

verb (used without object), coupled, coupling.
12.
to join in a pair; unite.
13.
to copulate.
Idioms
14.
a couple of, more than two, but not many, of; a small number of; a few: It will take a couple of days for the package to get there.
A dinner party, whether for a couple of old friends or eight new acquaintances, takes nearly the same amount of effort.
Also, Informal, a couple.
/ˈkʌplɪŋ/
noun
1.
a mechanical device that connects two things
2.
a device for connecting railway cars or trucks together
3.
the part of the body of a horse, dog, or other quadruped that lies between the forequarters and the hindquarters
4.
(electronics) the act or process of linking two or more circuits so that power can be transferred between them usually by mutual induction, as in a transformer, or by means of a capacitor or inductor common to both circuits See also direct coupling
5.
(physics) an interaction between different properties of a system, such as a group of atoms or nuclei, or between two or more systems
6.
(genetics) the occurrence of two specified nonallelic genes from the same parent on the same chromosome
/ˈkʌpəl/
noun
1.
two people who regularly associate with each other or live together: an engaged couple
2.
(functioning as singular or pl) two people considered as a pair, for or as if for dancing, games, etc
3.
(mainly hunting)

4.
a pair of equal and opposite parallel forces that have a tendency to produce rotation with a torque or turning moment equal to the product of either force and the perpendicular distance between them
5.
(physics)

6.
a connector or link between two members, such as a tie connecting a pair of rafters in a roof
7.
(functioning as singular or pl) a couple of

pronoun
8.
(usually preceded by a; functioning as singular or pl) two; a pair: give him a couple
verb
9.
(transitive) to connect (two things) together or to connect (one thing) to (another): to couple railway carriages
10.
(transitive) to do (two things) simultaneously or alternately: he couples studying with teaching
11.
to form or be formed into a pair or pairs
12.
to associate, put, or connect together: history is coupled with sociology
13.
to link (two circuits) by electromagnetic induction
14.
(intransitive) to have sexual intercourse
15.
to join or be joined in marriage; marry
16.
(transitive) to attach (two hounds to each other)
n.

late 13c., from Old French cople “married couple, lovers” (12c., Modern French couple), from Latin copula “tie, connection,” from PIE *ko-ap-, from *ko(m)- “together” + *ap- “to take, reach.” Meaning broadened mid-14c. to “any two things.”
v.

c.1200, from Old French copler, from cople (see couple (n.)). Related: Coupled; coupling.

coupling cou·pling n.

programming, hardware
The degree to which components depend on one another. There are two types of coupling, “tight” and “loose”. Loose coupling is desirable for good software engineering but tight coupling may be necessary for maximum performance. Coupling is increased when the data exchanged between components becomes larger or more complex.
(1996-08-01)