Coping

noun, verb

noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The top layer of a brick wall, especially one that slopes in order to throw off water. countable, uncountable

    "Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with (by way of local color) on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust […]"

  2. 2
    brick that is laid sideways at the top of a wall wordnet
  3. 3
    The process of managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize, reduce or tolerate stress or conflict. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    Clipping the beak or talons of a bird. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of cope form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
copeentablaturefriezeheaderheaderridge

Example

More examples

"The statesmen are barely coping with the intricate foreign affairs."

Etymology

From cope (sense 2), used in the sense "dress in a cope," "to cover."

Related phrases

coping mechanismcoping strategy

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.