copulate
verb /ˈkɒpjuleɪt/
/ˈkɑːpjuleɪt/
[intransitive] (specialist)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they copulate | /ˈkɒpjuleɪt/ /ˈkɑːpjuleɪt/ |
| he / she / it copulates | /ˈkɒpjuleɪts/ /ˈkɑːpjuleɪts/ |
| past simple copulated | /ˈkɒpjuleɪtɪd/ /ˈkɑːpjuleɪtɪd/ |
| past participle copulated | /ˈkɒpjuleɪtɪd/ /ˈkɑːpjuleɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form copulating | /ˈkɒpjuleɪtɪŋ/ /ˈkɑːpjuleɪtɪŋ/ |
- copulate (with somebody/something) to have sex
- Some animals perform elaborate mating rituals before they copulate.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘join’): from Latin copulat- ‘fastened together’, from the verb copulare, from copula, from co- ‘together’ + apere ‘fasten’.