Definition of "coupling" []

• The act of linking together or forming couples. (noun)
• The act of uniting sexually. (noun)
• A device that links or connects. (noun)
• Electronics Transfer of energy from one circuit to another. (noun)
• The body part of a four-footed animal that connects the hindquarters to the forequarters. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Of course in the early nineteenth century nobody would have thought twice about a Richard Burton marrying an Elizabeth, but from our 'modern' perspective the coupling is always going to grab attention."
• "Palladium-catalyzed cross coupling is also used by the electronics industry in the coating of electronic circuits and as a tool to develop thinner computer screens in the future, said prize committee member Jan Erling Backvall."
• "So same-sex coupling is unnatural when it happens in nature?"