cou·ple

noun

/ˈkʌpl/

In British English a plural verb is usually used in all 3 senses.Idioms

[singular + singular or plural verb] couple (of somebody/something) two people or things两人；两件事物
- I saw a couple of men get out.我看见有两个男人出去了。
[singular + singular or plural verb] couple (of somebody/something) a small number of people or things少数人（或物）
- We went there a couple of years ago.我们几年前去过那里。
- a couple of minutes/hours/days/weeks/months几分钟/几小时/几天/几周/几个月
- a couple of people/friends/guys几个人／朋友／伙计
- I've seen her a couple of times before.我以前见过她几次。
- I'll be with you in a minute. There are a couple of things I have to do first.请稍等一下，我有几件事情得先处理一下。
- We can do it in the next couple of weeks.我们可在今后几个星期里完成这件事。
- There have been some new developments in the past couple of days.过去几天里有一些新的进展。
- The last couple of years have been difficult.最近的几年一直是困难重重。
- There are a couple more files to read first.还有几份档案要先看一看。
Extra Examples
- The country's population could fall to 30 million within a couple of decades.该国人口可能在几十年内减少至 3000 万。
- I would like to make a couple of points at the outset.我想首先指出几点。
- I just have a couple of questions.我只有几个问题。
- I've played a couple of games for the reserves recently.我最近为预备队踢了几场比赛。
[countable + singular or plural verb] two people who are seen together, especially if they are married or in a romantic or sexual relationship（人）一对；（尤指）夫妻，情侣
- married couples几对夫妇
- same-sex/gay/lesbian couples同性／男同性／女同性夫妇
- a young couple年轻夫妻
- an elderly couple老年夫妇
- The royal couple will visit New Zealand next year.这对皇室夫妇将于明年访问新西兰。
- Several couples were on the dance floor.有几对情侣在跳舞。
- The couple was/were married in 2016.这对夫妇于 2016 年结婚。
- couple from… We met a couple from Chicago, who were travelling with their three children.我们遇到了一对来自芝加哥的夫妇，他们带着三个孩子一起旅行。
see also happy couple, power couple
Collocations Marriage and divorce
Marriage and divorceRomance
- fall/be (madly/deeply/hopelessly) in love (with somebody)
- be/believe in/fall in love at first sight
- be/find true love/the love of your life
- suffer (from) (the pains/pangs of) unrequited love
- have/feel/show/express great/deep/genuine affection for somebody/something
- meet/marry your husband/wife/partner/fiancé/fiancée/boyfriend/girlfriend
- have/go on a (blind) date
- be going out with/(especially North American English) dating a guy/girl/boy/man/woman
- move in with/live with your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner
Weddings
- get/be engaged/married/divorced
- arrange/plan a wedding
- have a big wedding/a honeymoon/a happy marriage
- have/enter into an arranged marriage
- call off/cancel/postpone your wedding
- invite somebody to/go to/attend a wedding/a wedding ceremony/a wedding reception
- conduct/perform a wedding ceremony
- exchange rings/wedding vows/marriage vows
- congratulate/toast/raise a glass to the happy couple
- be/go on honeymoon (with your wife/husband)
- celebrate your first (wedding) anniversary
Separation and divorce
- be unfaithful to/(informal) cheat on your husband/wife/partner/fiancé/fiancée/boyfriend/girlfriend
- have an affair (with somebody)
- break off/end an engagement/a relationship
- break up with/split up with/ (informal) dump your boyfriend/girlfriend
- separate from/be separated from/leave/divorce your husband/wife
- annul/dissolve a marriage
- apply for/ask for/go through/get a divorce
- get/gain/be awarded/have/lose custody of the children
- pay alimony/child support (to your ex-wife/husband)
Extra Examples
- childless couples seeking to adopt寻求领养孩子的无子女夫妇
- We stood and drank a toast to the happy couple.我们站起来为新娘新郎干杯。
- They make a beautiful couple.他们是很靓的一对。
- The hotel was full of honeymoon couples.酒店里住满了度蜜月的夫妇。
Topics Family and relationshipsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- adorable
- attractive
- beautiful
- …
verb + couple
- make
phrases
- the happy couple

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cople (noun), copler (verb), from Latin copula (noun), copulare (verb), from co- ‘together’ + apere ‘fasten’. Compare with copula and copulate.

Idioms

in two shakes | in a couple of shakes

(informal) very soon立刻；马上
- We’ll be there in a couple of shakes.我们很快就会到达那里。

cou·ple

verb

/ˈkʌpl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they couple	/ˈkʌpl/ /ˈkʌpl/
he / she / it couples	/ˈkʌplz/ /ˈkʌplz/
past simple coupled	/ˈkʌpld/ /ˈkʌpld/
past participle coupled	/ˈkʌpld/ /ˈkʌpld/
-ing form coupling	/ˈkʌplɪŋ/ /ˈkʌplɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

[transitive, usually passive] to join together two parts of something, for example two vehicles or pieces of equipment（把车辆或设备等）连接，结合
- be coupled together The two railway trucks had been coupled together.这两节铁道货运车厢给连在了一起。
- be coupled to something This energy is converted into electrical energy by the generator that is coupled to the turbine.这种能量由与涡轮机相连的发电机转换成电能。
[intransitive] (formal) (of two people or animals) to have sex性交

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cople (noun), copler (verb), from Latin copula (noun), copulare (verb), from co- ‘together’ + apere ‘fasten’. Compare with copula and copulate.