coup

«coup» in Mova's school dictionary: A sudden, often violent, illegal taking of power in a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a coup, coups)

meaning for a pupil

1) A sudden, often violent, illegal taking of power in a country, usually by the army; also called a coup d'état. tree →

2) A clever, successful action that wins something hard to get. tree →

sense in the lessons

In history and news lessons it appears when soldiers or leaders take over a government without an election. In everyday talk it can mean a great success ("getting that star player was a coup"). Phrases: "military coup", "failed coup", "a coup d'état", "a real coup".

examples

• The army took power in a coup. tree →
• The coup failed, and the president stayed in power. tree →
• Getting the famous author to visit our school was a real coup. tree →
• After the coup, there were protests in the streets. tree →
• A coup d'état is French for "a blow against the state". tree →

note

Pronounced "koo"; the p is silent. Plural: coups (also "koos"). From French "coup" meaning a blow or hit. Do not confuse with "coop" (a hen house) or "coupe".

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «coup» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.