uncouple

From Middle English uncouple; equivalent to un- +‎ couple.

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈkʌpəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌpəl

uncouple (third-person singular simple present uncouples, present participle uncoupling, simple past and past participle uncoupled)

1. (transitive) To disconnect or detach one thing from another.

   Synonyms: decouple, unpair; dispair (uncommon)

   Hypernyms: separate; disassociate, disjoin, disunite; split up, break up, break apart, take apart

   We uncoupled the trailer and left it behind.

   The railway workers uncoupled the cars near the tail end of the train.

   • 1953 August, J. G. Click, “The Lötschberg Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 515:

     On arrival at Spiez, the locomotive (No. 206) was immediately uncoupled and drew ahead to enable an Italian through coach from Interlaken to Milan to be loose shunted (with passengers aboard and controlled by means of its handbrake) on to the front of the train.

   • 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: The new Margam yard”, in Trains Illustrated, page 323:

     The shunter has a lightweight portable radio transmitter by which, as he uncouples an incoming train into cuts for marshalling, he informs the Traffic Office of the number of wagons in each cut and its siding; [...].

   • 2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948:

     The driver remained at his post, while telling fireman Jim Nightall to get down on the track and run back to uncouple the burning wagon from the rest.

2. (transitive) To come loose.
3. (transitive) To loose, as dogs, from their couples.

• uncoupled