couple, pair

join, combine, unite, connect, link, attach, couple, associate, relate

名詞 couple:

1. a small indefinite number
2. a pair of people who live together
   同義詞：mates, match
3. a pair who associate with one another
   同義詞：twosome, duo, duet
4. two items of the same kind
   同義詞：pair, twosome, twain, brace, span, yoke, couplet, distich, duo, duet, dyad, duad
5. (physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines

動(dòng)詞 couple:

1. bring two objects, ideas, or people together
   同義詞：match, mate, pair, twin
2. link together
   同義詞：couple on, couple up
3. form a pair or pairs
   同義詞：pair, pair off, partner off
4. make love
   同義詞：copulate, mate, pair

1. I saw a couple of men get out.
   我看見(jiàn)有幾個(gè)人出去了。
2. They are a nice couple.
   他們是很美滿(mǎn)的一對(duì)。
3. They coupled the carriages of the train together.
   他們把火車(chē)的車(chē)廂連接好。
4. I'll be back in a couple of days.
   我過(guò)幾天就回來(lái)。

cou.ple

n.（名詞）
Two items of the same kind; a pair.
一對(duì)，一雙：同一種類(lèi)的兩件；一對(duì)
Something that joins or connects two things together; a link.
連接物：把兩件東西連接在一起的東西；連接物
(used with a sing. or pl. verb)
（與單數(shù)或復(fù)數(shù)動(dòng)詞連用）
Two people united, as by betrothal or marriage.
夫妻，情侶：通過(guò)訂婚或婚姻結(jié)合在一起的兩個(gè)人
Two people together.
一對(duì)：在一起的兩個(gè)人
Informal A few; several:
【非正式用語(yǔ)】 數(shù)個(gè)；幾個(gè)：
例句：
a couple of days.
幾天

Physics A pair of forces of equal magnitude acting in parallel but opposite directions, capable of causing rotation but not translation.
【物理學(xué)】 力偶：具有相等磁性的兩個(gè)力，平衡作用但反向，能導(dǎo)致旋轉(zhuǎn)但不能造成平移
v.（動(dòng)詞）
cou.pled,cou.pling,cou.ples
v.tr.（及物動(dòng)詞）
To link together; connect:
連在一起；連接：
例句：
coupled her refusal with an explanation.
她的帶有解釋的拒絕

To join as spouses; marry.
成雙，結(jié)婚：作為配偶結(jié)合；結(jié)婚
To join in sexual union.
性交，交配
Electricity To link (two circuits or currents) as by magnetic induction.
【電學(xué)】 連接：如通過(guò)電磁感應(yīng)連接（兩條線(xiàn)路或電流）
v.intr.（不及物動(dòng)詞）
To form pairs; join.
形成對(duì)；連接
To unite sexually; copulate.
性交；交配
To join chemically.
化學(xué)上結(jié)合
adj.Informal （形容詞）【非正式用語(yǔ)】
Two or few:
兩個(gè)的，幾個(gè)的：
例句：
.Every couple years the urge strikes, to . . . haul off to a new site.(Garrison Keillor)
.每幾年，想撤離去一個(gè)新地點(diǎn)的沖動(dòng)就來(lái)了.(加里森·謝勒)

來(lái)源：
Middle English
中古英語(yǔ)
from Old French
源自 古法語(yǔ)
from Latin côpula [bond, pair]
源自 拉丁語(yǔ) côpula [繩索，對(duì)]

<參考詞匯><同義詞>couple,pair,brace,yokeThese nouns denote two individuals of the same kind together.
這此名詞表示同一種類(lèi)的兩個(gè)個(gè)體在一起。
Couple does not necessarily imply more than association:
Couple 并不一定必指多于聯(lián)系的意思：
例句：
a square dance performed by four couples. The term may also mean simply .few.:
由四對(duì)表演的四方舞。 這個(gè)名詞也可以指簡(jiǎn)單的.幾個(gè).：

例句：
a couple of minutes;
幾分鐘；

例句：
a couple of books.
幾本書(shū)。

Pair stresses close association and often reciprocal dependence of things (
Pair 強(qiáng)調(diào)親密的聯(lián)系和事物相互依賴(lài)：（
例句：
a pair of gloves;
一副手套；

例句：
a pair of pajamas); sometimes it denotes a single thing with interdependent parts (
一套睡衣褲）； 有時(shí)它表示具有兩個(gè)相互依賴(lài)部分的一件東西（

例句：
a pair of scissors;
一把剪刀；

例句：
a pair of spectacles).
一副眼鏡）。

Brace refers principally to certain animals or game birds (
Brace 主要指某種動(dòng)物或馴鳥(niǎo)（
例句：
a brace of hounds;
一對(duì)獵狗；

例句：
a brace of partridges), andyoke to two joined draft animals (
一雙鷓鴣）， yoke 主要指兩個(gè)連在一起的役用動(dòng)物（

例句：
a yoke of oxen).
一對(duì)牛）

When used to refer to two people who function socially as a unit,as ina married couple, the wordcouple may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether the members are considered individually or collectively:
當(dāng)用來(lái)表示作為一個(gè)單位來(lái)行使社會(huì)功能的兩個(gè)人時(shí)，如在一對(duì)已婚夫婦 中， 單詞couple 既可以帶單數(shù)動(dòng)詞也可以帶復(fù)數(shù)動(dòng)詞， 這取決于兩個(gè)人是被單個(gè)或集體地看待的：
例句：
The couple were married last week.
這一對(duì)夫婦是上星期結(jié)的婚。

例句：
Only one couple was unaccounted for.
只有一對(duì)夫婦沒(méi)被算在內(nèi)。

When a pronoun follows,they and their are more common than it and its :
如果后面跟有代詞，they 和 their 比 it 和 its 要常用一些：
例句：
The couple decided to spend their (less commonly its ) vacation in Italy.
這對(duì)夫婦決定在意大利度過(guò)他們的（很少用 its ） 假期。

Care should be taken that the verb and the pronoun agree in number:
應(yīng)當(dāng)注意動(dòng)詞和代詞在數(shù)上要一致：
例句：
The couple have their (less commonly has its ) primary residence in New York. ·
這對(duì)夫婦（很少用 has its ） 最初的住處在紐約。

Although the phrasea couple of has been well established in English since before the Renaissance, it has been criticized on several grounds.Grammarians used to insist thata couple of should be used only to refer to things closely linked to one another and so was improperly used in phrases such asa couple of years ago. This objection has not been heard in some time and was never well supported.Modern critics have sometimes maintained thata couple of is too inexact to be appropriate in formal writing. But the inexactitude ofa couple of may serve a useful communicative purpose, suggesting that the writer is indifferent to the precise number of items involved.Thus the sentenceShe lives only a couple of miles away implies not only that the distance is short but that its exact measure is unimportant. Furthermore,a couple of is different from a few in that it does not imply that the relevant amount is relatively small. One might say admiringly of an exceptional center fielder thathe can throw the ball a couple of hundred feet, but not, except ironically,a few hundred feet, which would suggest that such a throw was unremarkable. The usage should be considered unobjectionable on all levels of style.
盡管a couple of 這個(gè)短語(yǔ)在文藝復(fù)興之前就已在英語(yǔ)中形成， 它仍受到多方面批評(píng)。語(yǔ)法學(xué)家過(guò)去堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為a couple of 應(yīng)該只用于指互相之間緊密相連的東西， 所以在a couple of years ago 這樣的短語(yǔ)中用是不適當(dāng)?shù)摹?這樣的反對(duì)意見(jiàn)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間沒(méi)有人提起了，也從未受到太多支持?，F(xiàn)代批評(píng)家有時(shí)也認(rèn)為a couple of 太不精確，不能很恰當(dāng)?shù)赜糜谡降膶?xiě)作中。 但a couple of 的不精確性也有一種很有用的傳達(dá)交流的意圖， 表明作者對(duì)于所涉及的事物的精確數(shù)目并不太關(guān)心。因此她住的只有幾英里遠(yuǎn) 這個(gè)句子不僅表明距離很遠(yuǎn)，同時(shí)也表明精確測(cè)量是不重要的。 另外a couple of 與 a few 的不同還表現(xiàn)在它不表示有關(guān)的數(shù)量是相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)小的。 如果夸贊一個(gè)優(yōu)秀的中外野球手，可以說(shuō)他能把球拋幾百英尺遠(yuǎn) ， 若非如此的話(huà)，排除反意的可能，a few hundred feet 指拋這么遠(yuǎn)并沒(méi)什么稀奇之處。 這種用法在各種文體上都是無(wú)可辯駁的