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View synonyms for

coil

1

[ koil ]

noun

  1. a connected series of spirals or rings that rope, wire, or the like has been formed into:

    A coil of string was wound around the pole.

  2. one of a connected series of spirals or rings that rope, wire, or the like has been formed into:

    Grab the first coil of the yarn and slip it over the other two.

  3. an arrangement of pipes wound up in a spiral or series, as in a radiator.
  4. a continuous pipe having inlet and outlet, or flow and return ends.
  5. Medicine/Medical. an intrauterine device.
  6. Electricity.
    1. a conductor, such as a copper wire, wound up in a spiral or similar form.
    2. a device made up of this type of conductor.
  7. Philately.
    1. a stamp issued in a roll, usually of 500 stamps, and usually perforated vertically or horizontally only.
    2. a roll of such stamps.


verb (used with object)

  1. to wind into continuous, regularly spaced rings one above the other:

    The first step of this craft is to coil a wire around a pencil.

  2. to wind on a flat surface into a connected series of rings, one atop the other:

    He coiled the rope on the deck.

  3. to gather (rope, wire, etc.) into loops:

    She coiled the garden hose and hung it on the hook.

verb (used without object)

  1. to form rings, spirals, etc.; gather or retract in a circular way:

    The snake coiled, ready to strike.

  2. to move in or follow a winding course:

    The river coiled through the valley.

coil

2

[ koil ]

noun

Archaic.
  1. a noisy disturbance; commotion; tumult.
  2. trouble; bustle; ado.

coil

1

/ ɔɪ /

verb

  1. to wind or gather (ropes, hair, etc) into loops or (of rope, hair, etc) to be formed in such loops
  2. intr to move in a winding course
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. something wound in a connected series of loops
  2. a single loop of such a series
  3. an arrangement of pipes in a spiral or loop, as in a condenser
  4. an electrical conductor wound into the form of a spiral, sometimes with a soft iron core, to provide inductance or a magnetic field See also induction coil
  5. an intrauterine contraceptive device in the shape of a coil
  6. the transformer in a petrol engine that supplies the high voltage to the sparking plugs
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

coil

2

/ ɔɪ /

noun

  1. the troubles and activities of the world (in the Shakespearean phrase this mortal coil )
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈǾ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • Ǿ·· adjective
  • Ǿ····ٲ [koil-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee] noun
  • ܲ·Ǿ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of coil1

First recorded in 1605–15; of uncertain origin; perhaps from Middle French, Old French coillir, cuillir “to take” (modern French cueillir “to gather, pick”), from Latin colligere “to gather together”; collect, cull

Origin of coil2

First recorded in 1560–70; origin uncertain
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Word History and Origins

Origin of coil1

C16: from Old French coillir to collect together; see cull

Origin of coil2

C16: of unknown origin
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The only treatment offered to her was a Mirena coil, and she now feels she has been "put on the back burner" with no further medication.

From

Logan Roy, one of the richest men on the planet, shuffles off this mortal coil in his private jet’s toilet.

From

“A flickering light has gone out. ‘Dennis the Menace’ has shed his mortal coil.

From

The shrub — reportedly named for leaves that can droop and coil like poodle fur — primarily grows in Southern California in chaparral between roughly 3,300 to 7,500 feet, on granitic slopes and ridges.

From

A thin, rusty coil of sun smoldered through a patch in the clouds.

From

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