cope
KOHP
/koʊp/
To deal effectively with something difficult; to manage external or internal demands.
Implies successfully managing a heavy strain or crisis, often maintaining baseline functioning.
The story behind the word. Originally meaning 'to strike' or 'to engage in combat' in Middle English (from Old French 'couper', to hit), 'cope' evolved from physically striking back against an adversary to figuratively coming to blows with and mastering difficult circumstances.
Word relationships
- manage: Manage implies controlling administrative or operational details, whereas cope specifically stresses emotional/physical survival under strain.
- succumb: Succumb means to fail to resist pressure or disease; to give in.
Commonly confused with
- grapple: Grapple means struggling actively with a problem, while cope emphasizes managing or surviving it successfully.
Word family
- coping (noun): The process or mechanism of dealing with difficulties.
Collocations
- cope with stress
- cope mechanisms
- ability to cope
- struggle to cope
Idioms & expressions
- keep your head above water
Example sentences
- "Patients who learned effective psychological techniques were better able to cope with chronic illness." Clinical research paper.
Memory hook
To COPE is to handle every blow (COUP) life strikes at you. Engage and manage the blow.
When not to use
Do not use with a direct object without the preposition 'with' in standard English (e.g., say 'cope with stress', not 'cope stress').
Fun facts
- The noun 'coup' (as in coup d'état) shares the exact same linguistic origin as 'cope'.
Related words
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