uncouple
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release the coupling or link between; disconnect; let go.
to uncouple railroad cars.
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to end (a romantic relationship or marriage).
Their marriage was uncoupled by financial problems.
verb (used without object)
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to become unfastened; let go.
The glider uncoupled from the tow plane.
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to end a romantic relationship or marriage.
My sister and her boyfriend have uncoupled after ten years together.
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(of a romantic relationship or marriage) to end.
verb
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to disconnect or unfasten or become disconnected or unfastened
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(tr) to set loose; release
Etymology
Origin of uncouple
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you uncouple your net worth from your self-worth, navigating finances becomes less sensitive.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026
“You know I was married once, but that didn’t work out. It hurt to uncouple our lives from our dreams.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025
In cancer cells, however, we often observe that subdomains uncouple, resulting in erroneous attachments and chromosome segregation errors.'
From Science Daily • May 13, 2024
Who can forget when Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and her then-husband, musician Chris Martin, announced in 2014 that they would consciously uncouple?
From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2022
He felt the hush which Ml upon the company, and saw Master Twyti wave silently to the lymerer to uncouple his hounds.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
