What does coup mean?
A coup is a sudden, decisive action that succeeds against the odds, but the word is most famously associated with politics: a coup d'état is the abrupt overthrow of a government, typically by a faction within the state such as senior military officers, without legal authority. Political coups are almost universally condemned, carrying connotations of treachery, illegitimacy, and instability, which is why the term dominates headlines whenever soldiers seize power. Yet coup also thrives in ordinary, non-political contexts, where it means a striking success or masterstroke — winning an unexpected contract, landing an exclusive interview, or signing a star player may all be described as 'a real coup'. The word entered English from French in the seventeenth century and retains a certain elegance despite its violent core meaning. Its flexibility between admiration and alarm makes it a vivid, economical word worth knowing.
A sudden, skillful, and successful action; a notable achievement brought off against difficulty.
"Persuading the reclusive author to give his first interview in twenty years was a considerable publishing coup."
Short for coup d'état: the sudden, illegal seizure of governmental power, typically by military leaders.
"The army announced on state television that it had carried out a coup and dissolved parliament."
The plural coups follows standard English pluralization; note that in American English some speakers pronounce both singular and plural with a final p-like sound (/kuːps/), following the variant /kuːp/.
"The intelligence service had survived three coups in as many decades."
The word for overthrowing a government literally means a 'blow' — English borrowed the same French word that gave us the car 'coupe', the 'coupon' you clip, and even the humble 'cudgel'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coup
Coup comes directly from French coup, meaning 'blow' or 'strike', which derives from the Late Latin colaphus, 'a blow with the fist', ultimately of Greek origin (kolaphos). It was borrowed into English in the seventeenth century, initially in literal senses relating to blows and shots, before the political sense of seizing power became dominant through the French phrase coup d'état. The same root produced several other English borrowings: the car body style coupe, the coupon clipped from advertisements, the couplet of paired verse lines, and the native Old English cudgel, all tracing back to the idea of a blow.
How coup is actually used
In political usage, coup almost always appears as part of the phrase 'coup d'état' and carries strongly negative connotations, implying illegality and subversion of constitutional order. In everyday figurative use ('a marketing coup'), however, the word is admiring rather than sinister, denoting a clever triumph. The plural is coups.
Easily confused with coup
A coupe is a two-door car body style (or a small dessert glass), whereas a coup is a sudden decisive act or government takeover.
To coo is to murmur softly and affectionately like a dove, while a coup is a forceful, decisive strike or seizure of power.