cup / kəp/ • n. 1. a small, bowl-shaped container for drinking from, typically having a handle and used with a matching saucer for hot drinks. ∎  the contents of such a container: a strong cup of tea. ∎  a measure of capacity used in cooking, equal to half a pint—that is, 8 ounces (0.237 l): one cup of butter. ∎  (in church use) a chalice used at the Eucharist. ∎  the wine of the Eucharist. ∎  one's portion or share, as of sorrow or joy: I submit to God's will and drink this cup for his satisfaction. ∎  an ornamental trophy in the form of a cup, usually made of gold or silver and having a stem and two handles. ∎  (cups) one of the suits in a tarot pack.2. a cup-shaped thing, in particular: ∎  either of the two parts of a bra shaped to contain or support one breast. ∎  this as a measure of breast size: she had grown from an A to a C cup in just six months. ∎  a jockstrap having a protective reinforcement of rigid plastic or metal. ∎  Golf the hole on a putting green or the metal container in it.• v. (cupped, cup·ping) [tr.] 1. form (one's hand or hands) into the curved shape of a cup: “Hey!” Dad shouted, with his hands cupped around his mouth. ∎  place the curved hand or hands around: he cupped her face in his hands.2. hist. Med. bleed (someone) by using a glass in which a partial vacuum is formed by heating: Dr. Ross ordered me to be cupped.PHRASES: in one's cups inf. drunk.not one's cup of tea inf. not what one likes or is interested in: cats were not her cup of tea.

cup a cup is the emblem of St John the Evangelist and St Benedict.
cup-and-ring denoting marks cut in megalithic monuments consisting of a circular depression surrounded by concentric rings.
let this cup pass from me an appeal to be released from an ordeal; the allusion is to Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and his prayer ‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from me’ (Matthew 26:39). The implication is generally that the ordeal cannot be escaped, and must be endured.

cup OE. cuppe — medL. cuppa, presumably differentiated var. of L. cūpa tub, vat. ME. byforms c(o)upe, cop(p)e repr. partly OF. cupe, etc. (mod. coupe), but there was some blending with the descendant of OE. (late Nhb.) copp = MLG., Du. kop, (O)HG. kopf head.
Hence cupboard †sideboard (to hold cups, etc.) XIV; cabinet XVI.

CUP Cambridge University Press
• symbol for Cuban peso (monetary unit)

cup North American and Australian measure for ingredients in cooking; the standard American cup contains 250 mL (8 fl oz).