coupon

UK: /ˈkuːpɒn/ US: /ˈkupɑn, ˈkju-/ ,(ko̅o̅′pon, kyo̅o̅′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cou•pon /ˈkupɑn, ˈkyu-/   n. [countable]

1. a portion of a ticket, label, or the like, entitling the holder to something, or for use as an order blank, etc.:
   clipped a few discount coupons from the paper.
2. a separate piece of paper, ticket, etc., for the same purpose.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cou•pon  (ko̅o̅′pon, kyo̅o̅′-), n. 

1. a portion of a certificate, ticket, label, advertisement, or the like, set off from the main body by dotted lines or the like to emphasize its separability, entitling the holder to something, as a gift or discount, or for use as an order blank, a contest entry form, etc.
2. a separate certificate, ticket, etc., for the same purpose.
3. Business one of a number of small detachable certificates calling for periodic interest payments on a bearer bond. Cf. coupon bond.
4. Metallurgy a sample of metal or metalwork submitted to a customer or testing agency for approval.

• French; Old French colpon piece cut off, equivalent. to colp(er) to cut (see cope¹) + -on noun, nominal suffix
• 1815–25;

cou′pon•less, adj. 
Pronunciation

Coupon, related to cope and coup, is of French origin. It has developed an American pronunciation variant (kyo̅o̅′pon) with an unhistorical y -sound not justified by the spelling. This pronunciation is used by educated speakers and is well-established as perfectly standard, although it is sometimes criticized. Its development may have been encouraged by analogy with words like curious, cupid, and cute, where c is followed by a "long u '' and the (y) is mandatory.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

coupon / ˈkuːpɒn/ noun

1. a detachable part of a ticket or advertisement entitling the holder to a discount, free gift, etc
2. a detachable slip usable as a commercial order form
3. a voucher given away with certain goods, a certain number of which are exchangeable for goods offered by the manufacturers
4. one of a number of detachable certificates attached to a bond, esp a bearer bond, the surrender of which entitles the bearer to receive interest payments
5. one of several detachable cards used for making hire-purchase payments
6. a detachable entry form for any of certain competitions, esp football pools

verb

(intransitive) to distribute, collect, or redeem coupons

(transitive) to give away coupons that can be exchanged for (a product or service)

Etymology: 19th Century: from French, from Old French colpon piece cut off, from colper to cut, variant of couper; see cope¹