decouple

IPA/diːˈkʌpl/
KK[dikˈʌpəl]IPA/diːˈkʌpl/

decouple — verb

  • decouplepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • decoupleshe / she / it
  • decoupledpast simple
  • decoupling-ing form

1. To make one thing stop being tied to another, or to stop depending on something

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC1
Definition

To make one thing stop being tied to another, or to stop depending on something that used to shape it.

Example

Reema decoupled her work account from her personal phone last month.

pattern: decouple A from B

The city wants to decouple bus fares from the price of fuel.

common policy use with prices and costs

Common collocations
  • decouple growth from pollution
  • decouple prices from costs
  • decouple software from hardware
  • decouple one habit from another
Synonyms
  • separate

    Broader and less focused on ending a system link or dependency.

  • disconnect

    Often used for direct technical links such as wires, tools, or online services.

  • detach

    Usually suggests taking one physical thing off another.

Antonyms
  • couple

    Means to join two things so they work or move together.

  • link

    Stresses creating or keeping a connection between things.

Grammar Patterns

decouple A from B

be decoupled from + noun

decouple from + noun

Usage Note

Often used with from to name the link being broken. Common subjects are systems, prices, growth, or habits rather than objects that are simply taken apart by hand.

Common Mistakes

The company decoupled with the old supplier.
The company decoupled from the old supplier.
Use from when one side stops being linked to another.
We decoupled the meeting.
We decoupled the training plan from the weekly meeting.
The verb normally needs two things whose link is being removed.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Decouple is more technical and abstract than separate, disconnect, or detach. You use it when two things have been moving together, affecting each other, or built into the same system, and you want that link removed so they can act more independently. Separate is the broad everyday word for putting things apart. Disconnect often suggests breaking a direct link, especially in technology or communication. Detach is more physical and usually means taking one thing off another surface or object. A city can decouple ticket prices from fuel costs, but you would usually separate two files, disconnect a cable, or detach a label from a box.

decouple ↗separate ↗disconnectdetach ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • decouple A from B
  • decouple growth from emissions
  • decouple price from fuel costs

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Decouple is a modern English formation built from the prefix de-, meaning to remove or reverse, and couple, a word for joining things together. Couple came into English through Old French from Latin roots meaning a bond or link. The newer verb first suggested taking connected parts apart, then broadened to business, policy, and technology contexts where two systems, trends, or prices are no longer made to move together.

First known use

1938

1938, in the meaning defined above