cup

[ kuhp ]
See synonyms for cup on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small, open container made of china, glass, metal, paper, plastic, etc., sometimes having a handle and used chiefly as a receptacle from which to drink hot or cold beverages, soup, etc.

  2. the bowllike part of a goblet or the like.

  1. a cup with its contents: You look exhausted—go sit down and I'll bring you a cup of tea.

  2. the quantity contained in a cup: He drank a cup of water before bed.

  3. a unit of capacity, equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 milliliters) or 16 tablespoons; half-pint.

  4. an ornamental bowl, vase, etc., especially of precious metal, offered as a prize for a contest.

  5. any of various beverages, such as a mixture of wine and other ingredients: claret cup.

  6. the chalice used in the Eucharist.

  7. the wine of the Eucharist.

  8. something to be partaken of or endured; one's portion, as of joy or suffering.

  9. any cuplike utensil, organ, part, cavity, etc.

  10. either of the two forms that cover and usually support the breasts in a bra or other garment, such as a bathing suit.

  11. an athletic supporter reinforced with rigid plastic or metal for added protection.

  12. Golf.

    • the metal receptacle within the hole.

    • the hole itself.

  13. Cup, Astronomy. the constellation Crater.

  14. Metalworking. a cylindrical shell closed at one end, especially one produced in the first stages of a deep-drawing operation.

  15. Mathematics. the cuplike symbol ∪, used to indicate the union of two sets.: Compare union (def. 10a).

  16. cups, Archaic. the drinking of intoxicating liquors.

verb (used with object),cupped, cup·ping.
  1. to take or place in, or as in, a cup: He cupped his ear with the palm of his hand.

  2. to form into a cuplike shape: He cupped his hands.

  1. to use a cupping glass on.

  2. Metalworking. to form (tubing, containers, etc.) by punching hot strip or sheet metal and drawing it through a die.: Compare deep-draw.

Idioms about cup

  1. in one's cups, intoxicated; drunk.

Origin of cup

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English cuppe, from Latin cuppa, variant of cūpa “cask, tub,” apparently akin to Greek kýpellon “goblet,” Sanskrit kūpa- “hole, vessel, well”

Other words from cup

  • cuplike, adjective
  • un·der·cup, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for cup

cup

/ (kʌp) /


noun
  1. a small open container, usually having one handle, used for drinking from

  2. the contents of such a container: that cup was too sweet

  1. Also called: teacup, cupful a unit of capacity used in cooking equal to approximately half a pint, 8 fluid ounces, or about one quarter of a litre

  2. something resembling a cup in shape or function, such as the flower base of some plants of the rose family or a cuplike bodily organ

  3. either of two cup-shaped parts of a brassiere, designed to support the breasts

  4. a cup-shaped trophy awarded as a prize

  5. British

    • a sporting contest in which a cup is awarded to the winner

    • (as modifier): a cup competition

  6. a mixed drink with one ingredient as a base, usually served from a bowl: claret cup

  7. golf the hole or metal container in the hole on a green

  8. the chalice or the consecrated wine used in the Eucharist

  9. one's lot in life

  10. in one's cups drunk

  11. one's cup of tea informal one's chosen or preferred thing, task, company, etc: she's not my cup of tea

verbcups, cupping or cupped (tr)
  1. to form (something, such as the hands) into the shape of a cup

  2. to put into or as if into a cup

  1. archaic to draw blood to the surface of the body of (a person) by using a cupping glass

Origin of cup

1
Old English cuppe, from Late Latin cuppa cup, alteration of Latin cūpa cask

Derived forms of cup

  • cuplike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with cup

cup

In addition to the idiom beginning with cup

  • cup of tea, one's

also see:

  • in one's cups

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.