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
-
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
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.
Some buyers who want an SUV recoil at the thought of owning a Jeep, but there isn’t a Chrysler SUV to offer them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
He follows Britain's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Mark Carney, as they recoil from the mercurial policies of Trump, who is also expected to visit from March 31.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 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
The instinct to recoil at the killing of a fellow person, and to feel some vicarious pain as we consider the loss, is part of what makes us human.
From Slate • Jan. 9, 2026
A look I can only describe as Dauntless mania enters his eyes, but rather than recoil from it, as I might have a few weeks ago, I catch it, like it’s contagious.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
