Definition of "coup"
coup
noun
plural coups
A quick, brilliant, and highly successful act.
Quotations
The conference was a major coup for Robarts, who received congratulations for his 'expert handling' of the 'risky venture.'
2000, P. E. Bryden, “The Ontario-Quebec Axis: Postwar Strategies in Intergovernmental Negotiations”, in Edgar-André Montigny, Anne Lorene Chambers, editors, Ontario Since Confederation: A Reader, page 399
Yet the capture of Di María, who was the man of the match when Real won a 10th Champions League in May, represents something a coup for United considering the club are not in Europe’s premier club competition and need to strengthen their squad after the team have let five points slip from the first two matches.
2014 August 26, Jamie Jackson, “Ángel di María says Manchester United were the ‘only club’ after Real”, in The Guardian
Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year. Now that would really have been a real coup if that occurred. [audience gasps] Little tough, huh?
2022 April 30, Joe Biden, 1:02 from the start, in President Biden complete remarks at 2022 White House Correspondents' Dinner (C-SPAN), Washington, D.C.: C-SPAN, archived from the original on 01 May 2022
(US, historical, of Native Americans) A blow against an enemy delivered in a way that shows bravery.
Quotations
Thus, for a horseman to ride over and knock down an enemy, who was on foot, was regarded among the Blackfeet as a coup, for the horseman might be shot at close quarters, or might receive a lance thrust.
2007, James Mooney, George Bird Grinnell, Edmund Nequatewa, Native American Ways: Four Paths to Enlightenment, page 316
Quotations
Military coups and the military regimes which follow from them are so much a feature of third world politics that their presence or absence in any given region might almost be taken as a rough and ready touchstone of third worldliness.
1985, Christopher S. Clapham, Third World Politics: An Introduction, page 137
It was the military's discontent with what was happening in the country and in the military that led to the first military coup in January 1966. The First Republic was brought to an ignoble end and replaced with a military government.
2003, April A. Gordon, Nigeria's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook, page 130
The coup was well-planned. Fuel was artificially held back so as to create shortages and dissatisfaction with Brotherhood rule. The old state-controlled unions mounted public sector strikes that further sabotaged the economy and annoyed people. Police-controlled thugs who had been used against the Tahrir Square demonstrations in 2011 came back into action.
2013 August 23, Jonathan Steele, “The west has little influence in Egypt”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 18
(by extension) A takeover of one group by another.
Quotations
Liz Truss’s government is in chaos after the chancellor refused to confirm he would bring forward his budget to calm the markets and the home secretary accused fellow MPs of a coup against the prime minister. […] Backbenchers also expressed outrage at [Suella] Braverman’s suggestion of a “coup” against Truss.
2022 October 4, “Truss government in chaos amid budget confusion and coup accusations”, in The Guardian
verb
third-person singular simple present coups, present participle couping, simple past and past participle couped
(intransitive) To make a coup.
Quotations
In response to the accusation that the US government organised a coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia in order for Tesla to secure lithium there, Musk tweeted: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
2023 November 25, Douglas Rushkoff, quoting Elon Musk, “‘We will coup whoever we want!’: the unbearable hubris of Musk and the billionaire tech bros”, in The Guardian