does couple mean 2 or 3
I have used a couple to mean two or three, several to mean 3+ and few to mean -3 or any number that emphasizes something smaller than expected.efinitely not. Couple is certainly fewer than few. Pair: Two which go together, a matching couple. Couple: Often used with roughly the same definition as pair, with some specific idioms, such as the happy couple (newlyweds).
Excellent question! The short (and rather unhelpful) answer is that while technically, a couple does in fact mean two, it is not always used that way in practice and if you ask several native speakers you're likely to get different responses.A couple, a few, several... Words like this are used with various intent. have the impression that it is used loosely only when an approximation is in play. That is, you can say. 1  a couple of days, meaning two days, give or take some hours. 2  a couple of weeks meaning two weeks, give or take a few days. 3  a couple of dozen, meaning two dozen, give or take six or eight.