coil

¹ American  

[koil] / kɔɪl /

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.

   3. ignition coil.

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.

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verb (used with object)

• coils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coiled,
  past participle,  past
• coiling
  present participle

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)

• coils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coiled,
  past participle,  past
• coiling
  present participle

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 American  

[koil] / kɔɪl /

noun

Archaic.

1. a noisy disturbance; commotion; tumult.

2. trouble; bustle; ado.

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coil ¹ British  

/ kɔɪl /

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

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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

coil ² British  

/ kɔɪl /

noun

1. the troubles and activities of the world (in the Shakespearean phrase this mortal coil )

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coilability
  noun
• coiler
  noun
• coilable
  adjective
• uncoiled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• coiling
  present
• coiled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• coil
  simple
• coils
  simple
• have coiled
  perfect
• has coiled
  perfect
• am coiling
  progressive
• are coiling
  progressive
• is coiling
  progressive
• have been coiling
  perfect progressive
• has been coiling
  perfect progressive

Past

• coiled
  simple
• had coiled
  perfect
• was coiling
  progressive
• were coiling
  progressive
• had been coiling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will coil
  simple
• will have coiled
  perfect
• will be coiling
  progressive
• will have been coiling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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”; see collect, cull

Origin of coil²

First recorded in 1560–70; origin uncertain

Explanation

A coil is a spiral shape or a series of circles, each one inside another. You might see a coil of rope on a dock or coils of hair in a fancy hairdo. A snake naturally curls its body into a coil, and the end of a whip after it's been cracked tends to form a coil. To move in this way is also to coil, as when your cat coils around your leg or you coil a necklace around your finger. This verb form is the earliest meaning of coil, from the Middle French coillir, "to gather," with the Latin root colligere, "to gather together."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coil coils coiled coiling

Graham shuttles off this mortal coil with no such vindication.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026

And, while it would be easier for you to slip this mortal coil and leave your assets in the hands of your sons to do with that money as they please, it’s your money.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

What you will find are the lovable supporting actors of the meat world: skirt steak, pork riblets, chuck roast, spicy sausage, the occasional coil of chorizo.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

This isn't an unusual story – if you're a chronically online woman in your 20s you'll have seen plenty of conversations about hormonal contraceptives like the pill, coil and implant.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

The snake began to coil itself around her forearm.

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

He estimates the tune-up can help a household save up to 15% on an electric bill, “especially if coils are dirty and airflow is restricted,” Rogers said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

Powell praised the U.S. statement of protest, but warned that “words not backed by real costs…just teach Beijing that its strategy is working. The coils will keep tightening.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

The review identified multiple cancer causing substances in e-cigarette aerosols, including volatile organic compounds and metals released by heating coils.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

Three gaffers rush by with heavy coils of electric cord slung over their shoulders.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

One especially does not need an unwieldy, totally immobile mass of wires and coils spreading over twenty-five square yards.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Current theories suggest that magnetic energy builds up as the Sun's magnetic field lines become twisted and coiled -- similar to the mechanical energy stored in a tightly coiled metal spring.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

Played by a snarling, coiled Tom Blyth, Dee swaggers whereas Taylor shrinks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026

"It's the history, the quirkiness, the layout of the arena, how close the spectators are. It's everything," says Crucible MC Rob Walker, a coiled spring each April.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

“Wolf Moon” is concise and tightly coiled, yet it stretches across a startlingly long period of time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

She’s coiled inside her sleeping bag like a baby bear.

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

This dynamic “implies a coiling that will eventually resolve in a sharp repricing,” wrote BMO Capital Markets’ head of U.S. rates strategy, Ian Lyngen.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

Robert Smithson had bulldozed dirt and rocks to build a spiral jetty coiling out into Utah’s Great Salt Lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

Liquid inks are bound by the rules of fluid dynamics, which means when they fall from a height, they become unstable, folding and coiling in on themselves.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2023

Behind where they sat, I could see the 20-foot border wall with coiling razor wire on top.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2023

He looked almost solid now—a pale bearded king with cold eyes and tendrils of Mist coiling off his robes.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• braid
• tendril