recoil
Americanverb (used without object)
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to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.
-
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
Synonym Usage
See wince 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recoilsimple
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recoilssimple
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have recoiledperfect
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has recoiledperfect
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am recoilingprogressive
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are recoilingprogressive
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is recoilingprogressive
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have been recoilingperfect progressive
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has been recoilingperfect progressive
Past
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recoiledsimple
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had recoiledperfect
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was recoilingprogressive
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were recoilingprogressive
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had been recoilingperfect progressive
Future
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; see culet
Explanation
A recoil is a movement backwards, usually from some force or impact. The recoil of a gun is a backward movement caused by momentum. Your trip to the shooting range might make your mom recoil — from horror, not momentum. Recoil has both a verb and a noun form, meaning any kind of rebound or spring backwards. It doesn’t even have to be from an actual force. You might recoil when you see a snake, or recoil at the thought of having to eat squid. In those cases it’s more like a cringe or a flinch from something that’s scary, disgusting, or painful. Eating squid might in fact be all of those things to you.
Vocabulary lists containing recoil
The Lingo of Body Language
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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List 7
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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.
Although the resulting recoil force is extremely small, it acts continuously over millions of years.
From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026
Kieran Trippier was the only player to visibly recoil before the substitute grabbed the ball and beckoned his dazed team-mates forward in an attempt to quickly get the game back under way.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Today’s readers might recoil at the thought of a Scotsman making a pet out of a wild animal caught in southern Iraq.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
I love both because they thrive in the gray area of appetite: nothing too hot, nothing too cold, nothing that makes me recoil from a bite.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026
A million little silver strands burst in the serpent’s face, prompting it to recoil and blink its way through the sparkly cloud.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
