coin

[ koin ]

/ kɔɪn /

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See synonyms for coin on Thesaurus.com

noun

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 (defs. 1, 2).

Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.

adjective

operated by, or containing machines operated by, inserting a coin or coins into a slot: a coin laundry.

verb (used with object)

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.Compare emboss (def. 3).

verb (used without object)

British Informal. to counterfeit, especially to make counterfeit money.

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Idioms about coin

coin money, Informal. to make or gain money rapidly: Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.

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.

the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.

Origin of coin

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coyn(e), coygne, from Anglo-French; Middle French coin, cuigne “wedge, corner, die,” from Latin cuneus “wedge”

OTHER WORDS FROM coin

coin·a·ble, adjectivecoin·er, nounmis·coin, verbre·coin, verb (used with object)

Other definitions for coin (2 of 2)

COIN

[ koin ]

/ kɔɪn /

noun, adjective

counterinsurgency.

Origin of COIN

co(unter)in(surgency)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use coin in a sentence

The Georgia Birds and the Michigan Felines play a game where they flip a fair coin 101 times.
Can You Snatch Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory?|Zach Wissner-Gross|November 13, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
They flipped a coin to see which of them had first possession, and whoever made the first basket won the game.
Beware The Hot Pumpkin|Zach Wissner-Gross|October 30, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
If you flip a coin four times, there’s a 6% chance it will come up heads every time—unlikely, but it happens.
6 things to know about presidential election polls|Geoffrey Colvin|October 30, 2020|Fortune
So instead you toss two identical coins — the “replicas” — and note how often they land on the same side.
The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End|George Musser|October 29, 2020|Quanta Magazine

A normal coin lands with heads facing up half the time, tails facing up half the time — almost never on its side.
A Scientist Who Delights in the Mundane|Steve Nadis|October 26, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Pele, by the way, is often given credit for coining the phrase O Jogo Bonito—the Beautiful Game.
The Literature of Futbol: 11 Great Books About Soccer|Robert Birnbaum|June 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But time will remember him most vividly for coining the term “sack,” as in “sacking the quarterback,” which he did a lot.
The Deaths You Missed This Year|Malcolm Jones, Jimmy So, Michael Moynihan, Caitlin Dickson|December 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
According to Emily Hauser, our coining of the phrase “Jew-washing” was disingenuous and part of a nefarious “McCarthy-esque” plot.
The Debate on Jew-Washing—Beyond Ideology|Gerald M. Steinberg, Yitzhak Santis|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You will stand aloof like a second Aurelius, coining austere aphorisms and mocking the weakness of your unlearned fellows.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie
He was suspected of coining false money, but Dr. Dee declares he was innocent.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician|William Henry Davenport Adams
Manufacturers of emblems are coining money by the sale of hands, palm outstretched.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
It had done very well, it had run three months, but they were by no means coining money with it.
The Tragic Muse|Henry James
The 11th section authorizes the coining of the three cent coin, probably to facilitate the payment of these rates.
History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America|John Kerr Tiffany

British Dictionary definitions for coin

coin

/ (kɔɪn) /

noun

a metal disc or piece used as money

metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etcRelated adjective: nummary

architect a variant spelling of quoin

pay a person back in his own coin to treat a person in the way that he has treated others

the other side of the coin the opposite view of a matter

verb

(tr) to make or stamp (coins)

(tr) to make into a coin

(tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)

(tr) informal to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in)

to coin a phrase said ironically after one uses a cliché

Derived forms of coin

coinable, adjectivecoiner, noun

Word Origin for coin

C14: from Old French: stamping die, from Latin cuneus wedge

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with coin

coin

In addition to the idiom beginning with coin

coin money

also see:

other side of the coin
pay back (in someone's own coin)

coin

Idioms about coin

Origin of coin

OTHER WORDS FROM coin

Other definitions for coin (2 of 2)

Origin of COIN

Words related to coin

How to use coin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for coin

Derived forms of coin

Word Origin for coin

Other Idioms and Phrases with coin