copulate

verb

cop·​u·​late ˈkä-pyə-ˌlāt 

copulated; copulating

intransitive verb

: to engage in sexual intercourse

copulation

ˌkä-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

copulatory

ˈkä-pyə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

Synonyms

• sleep

Examples of copulate in a Sentence

Some animals have complex mating rituals before they copulate.

the time of year when deer in the wild are likely to copulate

Recent Examples on the Web

After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away. —Jack Guy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025

These guppies also attempted to sneakily copulate with the females more often. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 10 July 2025

Male bees are fooled by these lookalikes and will attempt to copulate with them and, in doing so, will spread the pollen of the orchid. —The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2025

But there was general agreement that most Central Floridians are seeing fewer of the copulating creepy-crawlies than in the past. —Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin copulatus, past participle of copulare to join, from copula — see copula

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for copulate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

copulate

verb

cop·​u·​late ˈkäp-yə-ˌlāt 

copulated; copulating

: to engage in sexual intercourse

copulation

ˌkäp-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

copulatory

ˈkäp-yə-lə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

adjective

Medical Definition

copulate

intransitive verb

cop·​u·​late ˈkäp-yə-ˌlāt 

copulated; copulating

1

: to engage in sexual intercourse

2

of gametes : to fuse permanently compare conjugate sense 1

copulation

ˌkäp-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

copulatory

ˈkäp-yə-lə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr- 

adjective