cupping

UK: /ˈkʌpɪŋ/ US: (kup′ing)

From the verb cup: (⇒ conjugate)

cupping is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cup•ping  (kup′ing), n. 

1. Medicine the process of drawing blood from the body by scarification and the application of a cupping glass, or by the application of a cupping glass without scarification, as for relieving internal congestion.

• Middle English cuppinge. See cup, -ing¹ 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cupping / ˈkʌpɪŋ/ noun

1. the process of applying a cupping glass to the skin

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

cup /kʌp/   n., v., cupped, cup•ping. 
n. [countable]

1. a small, open container of china, metal, etc., usually with a handle, used as a drinking vessel for hot beverages:
   We put out the cups and saucers for coffee and tea.
2. a cup with its contents:
   had a cup of hot coffee for breakfast.
3. the quantity contained in a cup:
   poured out a cup of coffee.
4. Food a unit of capacity equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 milliliters) or 16 tablespoons;
   half pint:
   two cups of flour.
5. an ornamental bowl, vase, etc., offered as a prize for a contest:
   When she won the tennis tournament, she held up the silver cup for everyone to see.
6. any cuplike part, utensil, etc.:
   the cup of a flower.
7. Clothing either of the two forms that cover the breasts in a brassiere.
8. Clothing an athletic supporter reinforced with rigid plastic or metal.

v. [~ + object]

9. to take, place, or hold in or as if in a cup:
   He cupped the baby's face in his hands.
10. to form into a cuplike shape:
    He cupped his hands and caught the ball.

Idioms

11. Idioms in one's cups, [be + ~] intoxicated;
    drunk.
12. Idioms one's cup of tea, [uncountable* used esp. in a negative phrase] something suited or attractive to one.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cup  (kup), n., v., cupped, cup•ping. 
n. 

1. a small, open container made of china, glass, metal, etc., usually having a handle and used chiefly as a receptable from which to drink tea, soup, etc.
2. the bowllike part of a goblet or the like.
3. a cup with its contents.
4. the quantity contained in a cup.
5. a unit of capacity, equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 milliliters) or 16 tablespoons;
   half-pint.
6. an ornamental bowl, vase, etc., esp. of precious metal, offered as a prize for a contest.
7. any of various beverages, as a mixture of wine and various ingredients:
   claret cup.
8. the chalice used in the Eucharist.
9. the wine of the Eucharist.
10. something to be partaken of or endured;
    one's portion, as of joy or suffering.
11. cups, the drinking of intoxicating liquors.
12. any cuplike utensil, organ, part, cavity, etc.
13. Clothing either of the two forms that cover and usually support the breasts in a brassiere or other garment, as a bathing suit.
14. an athletic supporter reinforced with rigid plastic or metal for added protection.
15. [Golf.]
    • the metal receptacle within the hole.
    • the hole itself.
16. (cap.) [Astron.] the constellation Crater.
17. See cupping glass. 
18. [Metalworking.] a cylindrical shell closed at one end, esp. one produced in the first stages of a deep-drawing operation.
19. [Math.] the cuplike symbol ∪, used to indicate the union of two sets. Cf. union (def. 10a).
20. in one's cups, intoxicated;
    drunk.

v.t. 

21. to take or place in, or as in, a cup:
    He cupped his ear with the palm of his hand.
22. to form into a cuplike shape:
    He cupped his hands.
23. to use a cupping glass on.
24. [Metalworking.] to form (tubing, containers, etc.) by punching hot strip or sheet metal and drawing it through a die. Cf. deep-draw.

• Latin cuppa, variant of cūpa tub, cask
• Middle English, Old English cuppe bef. 1000

cup′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cup / kʌp/ noun

1. a small open container, usually having one handle, used for drinking from
2. the contents of such a container: that cup was too sweet
3. Also called: teacup, cupful a unit of capacity used in cooking equal to approximately half a pint, 8 fluid ounces, or about one quarter of a litre
4. something resembling a cup in shape or function, such as the flower base of some plants of the rose family or a cuplike bodily organ
5. either of two cup-shaped parts of a brassiere, designed to support the breasts
6. a cup-shaped trophy awarded as a prize
7. a sporting contest in which a cup is awarded to the winner
8. (as modifier): a cup competition
9. a mixed drink with one ingredient as a base, usually served from a bowl: claret cup
10. the hole or metal container in the hole on a green
11. the chalice or the consecrated wine used in the Eucharist
12. one's lot in life
13. in one's cups ⇒ drunk
14. one's cup of tea ⇒ one's chosen or preferred thing, task, company, etc

verb (cups, cupping, cupped)(transitive)

1. to form (something, such as the hands) into the shape of a cup
2. to put into or as if into a cup
3. to draw blood to the surface of the body of (a person) by using a cupping glass

Etymology: Old English cuppe, from Late Latin cuppa cup, alteration of Latin cūpa cask