recoil
Americanverb (used without object)
-
recoils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recoiled,
past participle, past
-
recoiling
present participle
-
to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.
-
to spring or fly back, as in consequence of force of impact or the force of the discharge, as a firearm.
- Synonyms:
- rebound
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to spring or come back; react (usually followed by on orupon ).
Plots frequently recoil upon the plotters.
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Physics. (of an atom, a nucleus, or a particle) to undergo a change in momentum as a result either of a collision with an atom, a nucleus, or a particle or of the emission of a particle.
noun
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an act of recoiling.
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the distance through which a weapon moves backward after discharging.
verb
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to jerk back, as from an impact or violent thrust
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(often foll by from) to draw back in fear, horror, or disgust
to recoil from the sight of blood
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to go wrong, esp so as to hurt the perpetrator
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(of a nucleus, atom, molecule, or elementary particle) to change momentum as a result of the emission of a photon or particle
noun
-
-
the backward movement of a gun when fired
-
the distance moved
-
-
the motion acquired by a particle as a result of its emission of a photon or other particle
-
the act of recoiling
Synonym Usage
See wince 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recoilsimple
-
recoilssimple
-
have recoiledperfect
-
has recoiledperfect
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am recoilingprogressive
-
are recoilingprogressive
-
is recoilingprogressive
-
have been recoilingperfect progressive
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has been recoilingperfect progressive
Past
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recoiledsimple
-
had recoiledperfect
-
was recoilingprogressive
-
were recoilingprogressive
-
had been recoilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recoil
1175–1225; Middle English recoilen, reculen (v.) < Old French reculer, equivalent to re- re- + -culer, verbal derivative of cul rump, buttocks; see culet
Explanation
A recoil is a movement backwards, usually from some force or impact. The recoil of a gun is a backward movement caused by momentum. Your trip to the shooting range might make your mom recoil — from horror, not momentum. Recoil has both a verb and a noun form, meaning any kind of rebound or spring backwards. It doesn’t even have to be from an actual force. You might recoil when you see a snake, or recoil at the thought of having to eat squid. In those cases it’s more like a cringe or a flinch from something that’s scary, disgusting, or painful. Eating squid might in fact be all of those things to you.
Vocabulary lists containing recoil
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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.
See Examples For:
Many investors will thrill at the opportunity, but many others will understandably recoil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Simplifying the steering system was an important part of achieving that size while retaining propulsion based on photon recoil.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
He smiled after I busted him for looking, which made me recoil in horror and quickly dart over to hide in the pet food aisle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Many judges recoil from that conclusion, and the constitutional inquiry becomes personal.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2026
And the Beatles didn’t recoil in horror when they were told they had to play eight hours a night, seven days a week.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Having fashioned a creature from dead body parts, the scientist recoils from the result, which appears to him to be a monster of “unparalleled barbarity,” and abandons his construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
He practices a politics of inspiration, and the Surge recoils at politicians who try to inspire us.
From Slate ● Apr. 5, 2025
You see Oppenheimer recoil, even if what he recoils from is left pointedly out of frame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
"No. I can't believe this. No," Davis says, laughing with dumbfounded disbelief as she recoils.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2023
Brother Khoi recoils, vowing to never eat anything with wings.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Yet Edward soon recoiled from this facile conflation, transferring a year later, in 1900, to the New York School of Art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
His detractors recoiled at the ostentatious displays, questioned the origins of his money and his political connections, and saw his lifestyle as a stark illustration of inequality.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Walking into his kitchen, Tim Yoder recoiled at a message on his refrigerator door: “Shop Samsung water filters.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
As an unknown theater actor, Reiner recoiled when strangers pegged him merely as “Carl Reiner’s son.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
Every new ghost who recoiled from them in shock proved that they had not yet broken The Rule.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
But he proves a skilled physical comic, tussling with his boots or recoiling from a kick in the shins from Lucky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
De Guzman, who also curated an art show called “Roots of Cool” about trees, noted that Los Angeles seems to actually shrink during the hotter months, as if recoiling from the sun.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
“Swim in it? Me?” said retiree Patrice Desrousses, 64, recoiling ever so slightly as he paused in his promenade beside the storied waterway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024
So rather than staying in the cycle of having a knee-jerk negative reaction each time I scrolled past a new lurid selfie and then feeling guilty for recoiling, I unfollowed her.
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
Even though he thought she was recoiling from him, he took another couple of steps in her direction.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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