cup
Pluralcups
Pluralcups
- 1A concave drinking vessel, usually made of opaque material rather than glass, and fitted with a handle.
She set a porcelain cup beside the saucer.
The cup's handle had cracked after years of daily use.
UsageA coffee cup is the cup itself; a cup of coffee is the drink in it.
- 2The liquid held inside a cup; its drinkable contents.
He gulped down his cup in one go.
After the long walk, she warmed up with a cup of broth.
UsageUsually a cup of + a drink: a cup of tea, two cups of water. Cupful stresses the amount.
Similarcupful
- 3A unit of volume used especially in cooking, equal to 8 US fluid ounces (about 240 ml) in the US and 250 ml in metric countries.
Stir in a cup of broth and let it simmer.
She measured out three cups of stock for the soup.
Note
Recipes travel badly on this word, because the unit differs by country. The US cup is 8 US fluid ounces, a sixteenth of a US gallon: exactly 236.5882365 mL, rounded to 240 mL. The metric cup is 250 mL, so an American cup measures slightly small against it; older British cup measures varied.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- A US customary cup is 8 US fluid ounces and one-sixteenth of a US gallon. iup.edu
- A US customary cup is exactly 236.5882365 mL. en.wikipedia.org
- 240 mL is a rounded US cup equivalent. fda.gov
- Cup measures differ internationally; the metric cup is 250 mL, larger than the US customary cup. en.wikipedia.org
- Older British cup measures varied; half an imperial pint was not a universal British cup. Enquire Within Upon Everything gives an approximate cup of 6 imperial fluid ounces, smaller than a US cup. gutenberg.org
- 4A competition, especially a knockout tournament, in which the winner is awarded a cup.
The cup starts in August, and small clubs sometimes get to play the big ones.
She had played in the cup three times before retiring.
UsageTeams win the cup or play in the cup; names take a capital: the World Cup.
Similartournament, competition, championship
- 5A trophy made in the shape of an oversized cup, awarded to the winner of a competition.
The captain hoisted the cup as confetti rained down.
Each year the champion's name is engraved on the base of the cup.
UsageThe winners lift or hold up the cup.
Similartrophy
Note
The trophy takes its name from its shape, and the word stretches easily to praise. Joseph C. Lincoln's Mr. Pratt's Patients (1913) calls a sanitarium 'the cup winner' among odd collections of people, meaning the champion of its kind. That joking use works because the trophy itself stands for first place.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The trophy is named for its cup shape and represents victory. en.wiktionary.org
- Joseph C. Lincoln wrote Mr. Pratt's Patients, first published in 1913. openlibrary.org
- The novel's narrator, Solomon Pratt, calls the sanitarium 'the cup winner' among strange collections of people, figuratively making it the champion. home.hiwaay.net
- 6Any object that takes on the rounded, hollow shape of a cup.
The blossom formed a perfect cup to hold the morning dew.
Erosion had carved a shallow cup into the surface of the rock.
Note
A shape word that reaches from the hedgerow to the workshop. It names hollow natural forms: the cup of an acorn, or William Shenstone's 'cowslip's golden cup'. Woodworkers use it for a fault. Garrett Hack's The Handplane Book (1997) advises planing out any cup, meaning a board that has hollowed across its face, the change the engineering verb describes.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- An acorn's hollow covering can be called its cup. en.wiktionary.org
- William Shenstone used the exact phrase 'cowslip's golden cup'. upload.wikimedia.org
- Garrett Hack wrote The Handplane Book, originally published in 1997. garretthack.com
- The Handplane Book advises checking for and planing out cup. en.wiktionary.org
- Cup is a board's deformation across the width of its face. en.wikipedia.org
- 7Either of the two shaped parts of a bra that cover the breasts, or the size of this part, shown by a letter such as A, B, or C.
After the fitting, she learned she was actually a D cup.
The brand recently extended its range to larger cup sizes.
UsageThe letter goes first: she is a D cup; before a noun it is hyphenated, a C-cup bra.
Less common meanings
- 8To curve the hands into the hollow shape of a cup, or to hold something in hands curved this way.
Cup your palms together to hold a little water.
He cupped his hands to shield the match from the wind.
UsageUsually cup your hands, or cup something in your hands; the forms are cupped, cupping.
- 9A rigid, concave protective shield worn to guard the male genitals, especially during contact sports.
Catchers always wear a cup to protect against foul tips.
The boxer adjusted his cup before stepping into the ring.
UsagePlayers wear a cup; in cricket the same protector is usually called a box.
Similarbox
Note
Bill Amend's FoxTrot (2000) gets a joke from the overlap with bra sizing, sending boys to the store to learn what 'cup size' they need.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Bill Amend wrote the cited FoxTrot strip, published in 2000. en.wiktionary.org
- 10In golf, a cup-shaped liner set inside the target hole to hold the flagstick.
The putt curled around the rim before dropping into the cup.
Groundskeepers move the cup to a new spot on the green each morning.
Similarhole
Note
Golfers use the cup and the hole almost interchangeably, but strictly the cup is the liner set into the hole. The usual phrases are about arrival on the green: a putt drops into the cup, or the ball just misses the cup.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- The golf cup is the liner placed inside the hole. golfrsa.com
- 11A flexible, concave membrane that clings to a flat surface by suction, used to hold a hook or handle in place.
Wet the rubber cup before pressing it against the window so the suction holds.
The soap dish stayed up only as long as its cup gripped the smooth wall by suction.
UsageOften called a suction cup.
Similarsucker
- 12A container used to hold and shake dice before they are thrown.
He gave the cup a vigorous shake and tipped the dice onto the felt.
Tournament rules require every roll to come straight from the cup.
Similarshaker
- 13That which one must receive or endure; the portion of blessings and afflictions allotted to a person.
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
1611, The Holy Bible, King James VersionNote
A person's lot is pictured here as a drink they must take. The classic source is the King James Bible of 1611: 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.' That line gives the sense a solemn, scriptural ring. The cup can still hold good as well as ill, as in a cup of sorrow or a cup of blessings.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The metaphor represents an allotted experience as a drink a person must take. en.wikisource.org
- The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
- The quotation occurs in Matthew 26:39 of the King James Bible, spoken by Jesus in prayer. en.wikisource.org
- The figurative cup can represent blessings as well as afflictions. en.wiktionary.org
- 14Any of several sweetened alcoholic mixtures, such as claret cup.
The bar's summer menu offers a gin-based cup with cucumber, mint, and sliced strawberries.
A claret cup was passed around after dinner.
UsageThe drink comes first: claret cup, gin cup, cider cup.
Similarpunch
- 15In mathematics, the symbol ∪, used to denote set union and related operations.
The cup in 'A ∪ B' combines every element of both sets.
A cup placed between two sets yields their union.
Note
A name taken straight from the shape: ∪ looks like a cup, and mathematicians call it one. It stands between two sets, as in A ∪ B, to form their union. The same mark also serves for related operations beyond plain set union, so the name follows the symbol rather than a single meaning.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- The symbol ∪ is called cup and denotes union and related operations. en.wiktionary.org
- A ∪ B denotes the union of sets A and B. en.wikipedia.org
- 16A suit of the minor arcana in tarot, or one of the cards belonging to that suit.
He turned over the Three of Cups, which readers often take as a sign of friendship.
Several cups appeared in the spread, suggesting strong emotions.
Note
Cartomancy uses the word at two scales. It names one of the suits of the minor arcana, and it also names any single card from that suit. A reader can therefore speak of the suit of cups as a whole, of drawing a cup, or of several cups turning up in one spread.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Cups is a suit of the minor arcana in tarot. en.wikipedia.org
- 17To make something concave or shaped like a cup.
Excess moisture will cup the floorboards over time.
Years of summer heat had cupped the thin boards of the old deck.
Note
In engineering the verb means hollowing a surface on purpose, as when the end of a screw is cupped to give it a concave face. It also describes what happens to material on its own, as when moisture cups floorboards. The resulting hollow is called a cup, the noun for anything cup-shaped.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Screw ends can be deliberately made concave, producing a cup point. vital-parts.co.uk
- Moisture can cause floorboards to cup without deliberate shaping. woodfloors.org
- The noun cup can denote something cup-shaped, including the resulting hollow. en.wiktionary.org
- 18A glass or other vessel used to create the vacuum in the practice of cupping.
The physician warmed the cup before pressing it to the skin.
A row of glass cups left round marks along his spine.
Note
An instrument of historical medicine: a cupping glass or similar vessel, applied to the body so that a vacuum forms inside it. The word belongs to accounts of past practice, where the fuller name cupping glass is often clearer. The matching verb names the procedure the instrument performs.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Historical cupping used a vessel placed against the body with a vacuum created inside. wi101.wisc.edu
- The matching verb cup means to apply cupping apparatus or perform cupping. en.wiktionary.org
- 19To apply a cupping glass or apparatus to someone, subjecting them to the procedure of cupping.
Note
An archaic surgical verb. Its object is the patient or the part of the body, and the cupping glass is the tool. It belongs to accounts of older medicine, alongside the noun for the cupping instrument, and in such writing the passive, 'he was cupped', comes naturally.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Cup has an archaic surgical sense meaning to subject someone to cupping. en.wiktionary.org
- The patient can be the verb's object, including in passive constructions. govinfo.gov
- A body part can be the verb's object. gutenberg.org
- The cupping glass is the instrument applied to the patient. wellcomecollection.org
- Cup also historically names the cupping instrument. en.wiktionary.org
- The passive construction occurs in accounts of older medical treatment. govinfo.gov
- 20To supply someone with cups of wine.
Cup us, till the world go round.
c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”Note
An obsolete verb of feasting and revelry. Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, written around 1606–1607, has 'Cup us, till the world go round', a call to keep the drink coming until the room spins. The object is the drinker, not the wine, which is why it sounds strange now. Modern English would say 'fill our cups'.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Cup has an obsolete sense meaning to supply someone with cups of wine. en.wiktionary.org
- William Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra around 1606–1607. folgerpedia.folger.edu
- The quoted wording appears in Antony and Cleopatra. en.wiktionary.org
- The line calls for wine and evokes drunken spinning; this is an interpretation supported by the drinking song's context. folgerdigitaltexts.org
- In this line, the object is the drinkers, expressed by 'us'. folgerdigitaltexts.org
- 21To pour a liquid, such as a drink, into a cup.
- 22In ultimate frisbee, a defensive formation in which three near defenders surround the thrower, or those three players themselves.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
'Cup' comes from Middle English, formed when two Old English words merged: 'cuppe' (usually traced to Late Latin 'cuppa', probably from Latin 'cūpa' meaning tub or cask) and 'copp' (perhaps from Proto-Germanic 'kuppaz', a round object or vessel). It was later reinforced by Anglo-Norman 'cupe' and Old French 'cope', 'coupe', also from Latin 'cuppa'. It is a doublet of coupe, hive, and keeve.