acoplado

Portuguese

Etymology

From acoplar (“to couple”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.koˈpla.du/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.koˈpla.du/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.koˈpla.do/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐ.kuˈpla.du/ [ɐ.kuˈpla.ðu]

• Hyphenation: a‧co‧pla‧do

Adjective

acoplado (feminine acoplada, masculine plural acoplados, feminine plural acopladas, comparable)

1. linked, connected

Participle

acoplado (feminine acoplada, masculine plural acoplados, feminine plural acopladas)

1. past participle of acoplar

Further reading

• “acoplado”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “acoplado”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Alternative forms

• acoplao (colloquial)

Etymology

Past participle of acoplar (“to couple, to attach”). Equivalent to acoplar +‎ -ado. The colloquial social meaning is a metaphor: just as a trailer is hitched to a vehicle, an acoplado is a person who attaches themselves to a social group, event, or couple, often without a direct invitation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (standard) /akoˈplado/ [a.koˈpla.ð̞o], (colloquial) /akoˈplao/ [a.koˈpla.o]
• Rhymes: -ado, -ao
• Syllabification: a‧co‧pla‧do

Adjective

acoplado (feminine acoplada, masculine plural acoplados, feminine plural acopladas)

1. (Spain, colloquial, often derogatory) tagging along, joining a group or plan uninvited.

   Al final vino al cine de acoplado porque no tenía otro plan.

   In the end he came to the movies tagging along because he didn't have any other plans.

2. (mechanics) coupled, attached, connected.

Noun

acoplado m (plural acoplados, feminine acoplada, feminine plural acopladas)

1. (Spain, colloquial, often derogatory) a tagalong, a gatecrasher, a hanger-on, a third wheel (someone who joins a gathering, group of friends, or couple without being explicitly invited).

   No soporto al novio de Marta, es un acoplado y siempre viene a nuestras cenas.

   I can't stand Marta's boyfriend, he's a hanger-on and always comes to our dinners.

   Íbamos a ir solos, pero se nos unieron dos acoplaos a última hora.

   We were going to go alone, but two gatecrashers joined us at the last minute.

Synonyms

• (tagalong, third wheel): Synonyms: agregado, pegote, arrimado, paracaidista, (third wheel) sujetavelas, (freeloader) gorrista

Participle

acoplado (feminine acoplada, masculine plural acoplados, feminine plural acopladas)

1. past participle of acoplar

Further reading

• “acoplado”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025