recoil
Americanverb (used without object)
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to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.
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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
-
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the backward movement of a gun when fired
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the distance moved
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the motion acquired by a particle as a result of its emission of a photon or other particle
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the act of recoiling
Related Words
See wince 1.
Other Word Forms
- nonrecoil noun
- recoiler noun
- recoilingly adverb
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; culet
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.
They also boost earnings per share and help propel stock prices, which is why many investors prize them and would recoil at the notion of government interference.
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.
I expected Mr. Drysdale to recoil backward, perhaps even turn and run for the door.
From Literature
I feel wind and droplets, and—as a kid who lived through a pandemic—I recoil in horror, jumping backward into Jonesy.
From Literature
The manager turned off the vacuum, recoiled hoses and exhaled with relief.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
