couplet

noun

cou·​plet ˈkə-plət 

1

: two successive lines of verse forming a unit marked usually by rhythmic correspondence, rhyme, or the inclusion of a self-contained utterance : distich

She ended her poem with a rhyming couplet.

2

: couple

Synonyms

• brace
• couple
• duo
• dyad
• pair
• twain
• twosome

Examples of couplet in a Sentence

a poem made up of six couplets

a couplet of statues flank the entrance to the church

Recent Examples on the Web

Even the packaging — an eye-catching holographic bag emblazoned with cheery drawings and Skolnick’s couplet poems — stood out on the shelves of Erewhon and Mother’s Market. —Jean Trinh, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025

In 2023, the rapper/singer spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and talked about the birth of that immortal couplet. —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 12 May 2025

This cheerfully genre-crossing autobiographical novel is told in rhyming couplets with some prose sections interspersed. —Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2025

And that repeating first couplet — which comprises six of the poem’s 18 lines and occupied the first day of this challenge — will surely jingle in your pocket for a long time to come. —A.o. Scott, New York Times, 2 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, diminutive of Old French cuple, couple — see couple entry 1

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing couplet

• closed couplet
• heroic couplet

Kids Definition

couplet

noun

cou·​plet ˈkəp-lət 

: two lines of verse that follow in order and form a unit

especially : two rhyming lines of the same length