mortal coil
Americannoun
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the physical body regarded as the shell or casing in which the immortal spirit lives.
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life, with all its turmoil, confusion, and trouble.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
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
You have to strain to see him, way up there, high above this mortal coil.
From Slate ● Feb. 16, 2026
"Maybe, by the time I shuffle off this mortal coil, there might be a little more awareness… of the need to bring things back together again," he says.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
Logan Roy, one of the richest men on the planet, shuffles off this mortal coil in his private jet’s toilet.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2025
The residents have a saying that invalids are obliged to go away to Nice or Mentone, on the mainland, to die, since no one shuffles off this mortal coil by natural means in Malta.
From The Story of Malta by Ballou, Maturin Murray
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.
