- coupling, mating, pairing, conjugation, union, sexual union - the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes; "the casual couplings of adolescents"; "the mating of some species occurs only in the spring"
--1 is a kind of sexual activity, sexual practice, sex, sex activity
--1 has particulars:assortative mating; disassortative mating; hybridization, hybridisation, crossbreeding, crossing, cross, interbreeding, hybridizing; inbreeding; servicing, service