cup
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cup¹
- /ˈkʌp/ Canada, US, UK
- /ˈkɐp/ Australia, New Zealand
- [ˈkɐ̞p] Australia, New Zealand
- /ˈkʊp/ Ireland, Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌp
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”).
Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (“tub, cask”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewp- (“a hollow”). Old English copp, however, is from Proto-West Germanic *kopp (“round object, bowl, vessel, knoll, summit, crown of the head”), from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch”) (whence also obsolete English cop (“top, summit, crown of the head”), German Kopf (“top, head”)).
The Middle English word was further reinforced by Anglo-Norman cupe and Old French cope, coupe, from Latin cuppa. Compare also Saterland Frisian Kop (“cup”), West Frisian kop (“cup”), Dutch kop (“cup”), German Low German Koppke, Köppke (“cup”), Danish kop (“cup”), Swedish kopp (“cup”). Doublet of coupe, hive, and keeve.
noun cups
- A concave vessel for drinking, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass) and with a handle. Pour the tea into the cup.
-
The contents of said vessel.
I drank two cups of water but still felt thirsty.
Similar: cupful
- A US unit of liquid measure equal to 8 fluid ounces (¹⁄₁₆ of a US gallon; 236.5882365 mL) or 240 mL.
- A Canadian unit of measure equal to 8 imperial ounces (¹⁄₂₀ imperial gallon; 227.3 mL) or 250 mL.
- A British unit of measure equal to ¹⁄₂ imperial pint (10 imperial ounces; 284 mL) or 300 mL.
- A metric unit of measure equal to 250 mL.
- A trophy in the shape of an oversized cup. The World Cup is awarded to the winner of a quadrennial football tournament.
- A contest for which a cup is awarded. The World Cup is the world's most widely watched sporting event.
- The main knockout tournament in a country, organised alongside the league. Until it was disbanded in 1999, the European Cup-Winners Cup was contested annually by the winners of Europe's national cups.
- A cup-shaped object placed in the target hole. The ball just misses the cup.
- A container in which dice are held and shaken before being thrown.
- Any of various sweetened alcoholic drinks. cider cup
-
A rigid concave protective covering for the male genitalia.
Players of contact sports are advised to wear a cup.
Similar: box
- One of the two parts of a brassiere which each cover a breast. The cups are made of a particularly uncomfortable material.
- Prefixed with a letter, used as a measurement of bra or breast size. "For cleavage to show up in these photos, a girl has to have C-cup breasts — at least that's what they told me once."
- The symbol ∪ denoting union and similar operations.
- A suit of the minor arcana in tarot, or one of the cards from the suit.
- A defensive style characterized by a three player near defense cupping the thrower; or those three players.
-
A flexible concave membrane used to temporarily attach a handle or hook to a flat surface by means of suction.
Similar: suction cup
- Anything shaped like a cup. the cup of an acorn
- A cupping glass or other vessel or instrument used to produce the vacuum in cupping.
- That which is to be received or indured; that which is allotted to one; a portion of blessings and afflictions. O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
verb cups · cupping · cupped
- To form into the shape of a cup, particularly of the hands. Cup your hands and I'll pour some rice into them.
- To hold something in cupped hands. He cupped the ball carefully in his hands.
- To pour (a liquid, drink, etc.) into a cup. We are cupping some new brands of coffee today.
- To supply with cups of wine. Cup us, till the world go round.
- To apply a cup or cupping apparatus to; to subject to the operation of cupping.
- To make concave or in the form of a cup. to cup the end of a screw
CUP²
proper noun
- Initialism of Cambridge University Press
- Initialism of Committee of Union and Progress
Cup³
Where it comes from
Capitalization of cup
proper noun
- A particular trophy that is a cup; sometimes with the definite article "the".
noun Cups
- A win of a championship that is awarded a cup.
- A win of an event comprising part of the championship, which is awarded a cup
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: loving cup, cupful, transfuse, chalice, goblet, bottle, jar, pot, bowl, vial, cafe, café, scoop, coffee, harvest, harvesting
Translations
Every language
noun unit of measure
| Español | taza |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 컵 keop, 배 bae |
| 日本語 | カップ kappu |
| हिन्दी | पैमाना paimānā |
| Português | xícara, chávena |
| Français | tasse |
| Deutsch | Tasse |
| Ελληνικά | κούπα koúpa |
| Tiếng Việt | chén |
| العربية | كُوب kūb |
| עברית | כּוֹס kos |
noun drinking vessel
| Español | taza, vaso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 컵 keop, 잔 jan |
| 日本語 | コップ koppu, カップ kappu, 茶碗 chawan, お猪口 ochoko, 器 utsuwa, 盃 sakazuki |
| 中文 | 杯子 bēizi |
| हिन्दी | प्याला pyālā, चषक caṣak, प्याली pyālī |
| Kiswahili | kikombe |
| Português | xícara, chávena, copo |
| Français | tasse, coupe |
| Deutsch | Tasse |
| Italiano | tazza, coppa |
| Ελληνικά | φλιτζάνι flitzáni, κούπα koúpa |
| Română | ceașcă |
| Русский | ча́шка čáška, ча́ша čáša, ку́бок kúbok |
| Tiếng Việt | chén, tách, cốc |
| العربية | كَأْس kaʔs, كُوب kūb, فِنْجَان finjān |
| עברית | כּוֹס kos, סֵפֶל séfel |
noun trophy
| Español | copa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 杯 hai, 優勝杯 yūshō hai |
| Kiswahili | kombe |
| Português | taça |
| Français | coupe |
| Deutsch | Pokal |
| Italiano | coppa |
| Ελληνικά | κύπελλο kýpello |
| Română | cupă |
| Русский | ку́бок kúbok |
| Tiếng Việt | cúp |
| العربية | فِنْجَان finjān |
| עברית | גָּבִיעַ gavía' |
noun contest
| Español | copa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 컵 keop, 배 bae |
| 日本語 | カップ kappu, 杯 hai |
| Kiswahili | kombe |
| Português | copa |
| Français | coupe |
| Deutsch | Meisterschaft, Pokal |
| Ελληνικά | κύπελλο kýpello |
| Română | cupă |
| Русский | ку́бок kúbok |
| עברית | גָּבִיעַ gavía' |
noun golf: cup-shaped object placed in the target hole
| 日本語 | カップ kappu |
|---|
noun protective covering for the male genitalia
| Español | coquilla |
|---|---|
| Português | coquilha |
| Français | coquille |
| Deutsch | Suspensorium |
| Italiano | conchiglia |
noun part of bra
| Español | copa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 컵 keop |
| 日本語 | カップ kappu |
| 中文 | 罩杯 zhàobēi |
| Português | copa |
| Français | bonnet |
| Deutsch | Körbchen |
| Italiano | coppa |
| Ελληνικά | κούπα koúpa |
| Română | cupă |
| Русский | ча́шечка čášečka |
noun that which is to be received or indured
| Deutsch | Becher |
|---|
verb form into the shape of a cup
| Deutsch | die Hand aufhalten |
|---|
Talk about this word "cup." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cup. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cup. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cup "cup." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cup.Cite this
@misc{cup_2026,
title = {cup},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cup},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
