a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government

he was overthrown in an army coup

an instance of successfully achieving something difficult

it was a major coup to get such a prestigious contract

a direct pocketing of the cue ball, which is a foul stroke

(among some Indigenous peoples of North America) an act of touching an armed enemy in battle as a deed of bravery, or an act of first touching an item of the enemy's in order to claim it