copes

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of cope.

   The new manager copes calmly with last-minute changes to the schedule.

   Somehow the small team copes with a workload meant for twice as many people.

   Note

   In its everyday meaning the form takes no direct object and needs "with" to name the trouble: she copes with pressure, the system copes with demand. Before a noun, "with" cannot be dropped. The trade meanings work the other way and take an object directly. A joiner copes a joint to fit a miter, a falconer copes a bird's beak, and a mason copes a wall with stone.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of cope.

   The museum displayed medieval copes stitched with silver thread.

   Both bishops removed their copes once the ceremony had ended.

   Note

   One spelling counts several unrelated things: the long ceremonial cloaks clergy wear for rites other than the Mass, the sloped stone or metal caps that shed rain from the top of a wall, and, in foundry work, the upper halves of sand molds. Context alone sorts them out. The same letters also spell the verb form (she copes), so an article or a number in front, as in the copes or two copes, marks the noun.

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