a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
a number of such pieces.
Informal. money; cash.
He's got plenty of coin in the bank.
Architecture. quoin.
Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.
to make (coinage) by stamping metal.
The mint is coining pennies.
to convert (metal) into coinage.
The mint used to coin gold into dollars.
to make; invent; fabricate.
to coin an expression.
Metalworking. to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.
the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.
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.
coin money, to make or gain money rapidly.
Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.
a metal disc or piece used as money
metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc
architect a variant spelling of quoin
to treat a person in the way that he has treated others
the opposite view of a matter
(tr) to make or stamp (coins)
(tr) to make into a coin
(tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)
informal (tr) to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in )
said ironically after one uses a cliché
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coyn(e), coygne, from Anglo-French; Middle French coin, cuigne “wedge, corner, die,” from Latin cuneus “wedge”
co(unter) in(surgency)
If you coin a phrase, that means you come up with a new way to say something, like the person who coined "webizens" to describe people who constantly use the Internet. The verb coin literally refers to making coins, the change you probably have in your pocket. The word can be used in a broader sense — creating something new, usually something related to language. For example, you could coin a phrase or a new word for “joke.” The language authorities would be proud — unlike federal authorities if you tried to coin money. That kind of coining is a criminal offense.
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Throughout the incident, the fan yells, “Wemby!” as well as what is thought to be the name of a meme coin.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
The other side of the coin is where all this money is headed.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
In March, the US Treasury approved a commemorative gold coin featuring Trump standing at a desk.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Calvin Coolidge appeared on a limited-edition coin for America’s sesquicentennial in 1926.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
The morning the great white came to Rockport, my best friend and I were sticking our fingers into the coin returns of every pay phone in town.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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.
