coin
1 Americannoun
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a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
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a number of such pieces.
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Informal. money; cash.
He's got plenty of coin in the bank.
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Architecture. quoin.
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Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to make (coinage) by stamping metal.
The mint is coining pennies.
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to convert (metal) into coinage.
The mint used to coin gold into dollars.
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to make; invent; fabricate.
to coin an expression.
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Metalworking. to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.
verb (used without object)
idioms
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the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.
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pay someone back in his / her own coin, to reciprocate or behave toward in a like way, especially inamicably; retaliate.
If they persist in teasing you, pay them back in their own coin.
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coin money, to make or gain money rapidly.
Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.
noun
noun
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a metal disc or piece used as money
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metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc
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architect a variant spelling of quoin
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to treat a person in the way that he has treated others
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the opposite view of a matter
verb
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(tr) to make or stamp (coins)
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(tr) to make into a coin
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(tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)
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informal (tr) to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in )
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said ironically after one uses a cliché
Other Word Forms
- coinable adjective
- coiner noun
- miscoin verb
- recoin verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of coin1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coyn(e), coygne, from Anglo-French; Middle French coin, cuigne “wedge, corner, die,” from Latin cuneus “wedge”
Origin of COIN1
co(unter) in(surgency)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I never thought prices would rise so dramatically," said 54-year-old Wu, who told AFP she wanted to sell panda-themed gold coins she had purchased after the birth of her daughter in 2002.
From Barron's
But he has coined an internal phrase based on a pair of common Korean expressions: “pali, pali,” which means quickly, and “miri, miri” which means in advance.
The crows brought him silver buttons and paper clips, and coins which he dug holes in and strung onto a shoelace and wore round his neck.
From Literature
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I take a few coins from my pocket but can’t tell one from the other.
From Literature
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Alcaraz has 'CCC' tattooed on his wrist - a tribute to the family phrase coined by his grandad and drummed into the six-time major champion when he was a child.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.