Phrase guide

cope with

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To come to terms with; to overcome any difficulties presented by.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • She finds her mental illness very difficult to cope with.
  • The government should implement this policy to cope with this serious problem.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

satisfy or fulfill

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • meet a need
  • this job doesn't match my dreams

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: meet, match

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cope, get by, make out, make do, contend, grapple, deal, manage

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 對付 /对付 (duìfu) — come to terms with
  • Chinese Mandarin: 支應 /支应 (zhīyìng) — come to terms with
  • Chinese Mandarin: 應付 /应付 (yìngfù) — come to terms with
  • Danish: håndtere — come to terms with
  • Finnish: tulla toimeen — come to terms with
  • German: verkraften — come to terms with
  • German: bewältigen — come to terms with
  • German: zurechtkommen — come to terms with
  • German: umgehen — come to terms with
  • German: fertigwerden — come to terms with
  • German: schaffen — come to terms with
  • Polish: radzić sobie — come to terms with
  • Polish: poradzić sobie — come to terms with
  • Russian: справля́ться (spravljátʹsja) — come to terms with
  • Russian: спра́виться (správitʹsja) — come to terms with
  • Russian: выде́рживать (vydérživatʹ) — come to terms with
  • Russian: вы́держать (výderžatʹ) — come to terms with
  • Russian: совлада́ть (sovladátʹ) — come to terms with
  • Spanish: sobrellevar — come to terms with
  • Tamil: சமாளி (camāḷi) — come to terms with