(physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines
"The engineer calculated how a couple would cause the beam to rotate without translating it under load."
Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.
"The couple held hands while waiting for their table at the restaurant."
In plain English: A couple is two people who are romantically involved with each other.
"We went to the movies with our couple of close friends last night."
Usage: Use "couple" to refer to two people who are romantically involved or living together as a unit, often without specifying their names. Avoid using it for any random pair of individuals unless they share that specific romantic connection.
To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another).
"Please couple these two wires correctly so the circuit functions safely."
In plain English: To couple means to join two things together so they work as a pair.
"She decided to couple the two projects together so she could finish them faster."
Usage: Use the verb couple to describe the action of joining two distinct items or people together, often implying a close or permanent connection. Avoid using it as a noun for a pair of people unless you are specifically referring to the relationship itself rather than the act of joining.
Two or (a) small number of.
"We need to buy a couple of boxes of tissues for the party, just in case someone gets sick."
"We had a couple of beers after work."
Usage: Use "couple" as an adjective to mean "two" when referring to specific items like a couple of shoes, but use it loosely to mean "a few" only in casual speech regarding countable nouns like people or days. Avoid using this form with uncountable quantities such as water or time.
Two or a few, a small number of.
"I only need to buy a couple of apples since we're not hungry tonight."
The word couple comes from the Latin cōpula, which originally meant a link or connection used to join things together. It entered English through Middle English and Old French as a doublet of the more technical term copula.