uncoil
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
uncoils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uncoiled,
past participle, past
-
uncoiling
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
uncoilsimple
-
uncoilssimple
-
have uncoiledperfect
-
has uncoiledperfect
-
am uncoilingprogressive
-
are uncoilingprogressive
-
is uncoilingprogressive
-
have been uncoilingperfect progressive
-
has been uncoilingperfect progressive
Past
-
uncoiledsimple
-
had uncoiledperfect
-
was uncoilingprogressive
-
were uncoilingprogressive
-
had been uncoilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uncoil
Explanation
To uncoil is to straighten something out that's been curled or twisted, the way you uncoil a long, thin piece of red licorice, chewing it as you go. When something is coiled, it's wound or curled into a spiral shape. You can even call it a coil, like a coil of rope on the deck of a sailboat. Make it straight by untwisting it, and you uncoil it: "Leave my snake alone! Don't try to uncoil her!" The prefix un- means "reverse or opposite of," and coil, "gather into rings," comes from a root meaning "to gather or collect."
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.
See Examples For:
There is fundamental pent-up demand for home improvement that should uncoil as housing turnover improves.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
Slamming her feet down on the springboard, Biles compresses the springs that then uncoil and transfer energy back into her body as she reaches up and backward for the vault table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024
Had I said, "I love you"? I will never be able to uncoil that memory from my brain.
From Salon ● May 2, 2023
I would read a sentence once, considering it insightful but obvious enough; then, on a second or fourth or seventh reading, the same sentence would uncoil itself, revealing something almost unsettlingly perceptive.
From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2018
“No. That’s not why. You chose the name Fern because you loved the way ferns uncoil from fronds, like a dancer.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Most impressively, Lopez grabs a martini, slowly does a one-legged spin to the ground and then uncoils herself to stand back up and cheer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
When the material is pulled, hidden length inside the polymer uncoils, allowing it to elongate up to 40 times more than standard polymers without weakening.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
But Mills can tell when Junie is over it herself: Her tongue uncoils further out the crook of her mouth, dashes turn into trots, trots turn into steps, steps turn to sit.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2022
A final curl of smoke uncoils in the wind.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2022
He uncoils the grounding wires, raises the aerials, and switches them on.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
He measured each step, sprang forward and then uncoiled, thumping the ball out of Allen’s grip to send it skidding to the turf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2025
Officers from Customs and Border Protection uncoiled razor wire across the railway gate.
From Reuters ● Aug. 8, 2023
Once uncoiled by the threat of blackmail and later, the admonishments of her husband, Torvald, her intelligence bursts forth with intoxicating and indomitable force.
From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
The pitcher wound up, then uncoiled, sending the ball flying.
From Washington Times ● May 15, 2019
Vulnerable to attack and without shade, it uncoiled across the undulating land in long shallow S shapes.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
He exploded out of his stance, a spring uncoiling, and his cleats ripped through the grass.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
He published photographs of security officers uncoiling barbed wire next to a wall that appeared more than two metres high.
From Reuters ● Nov. 11, 2022
It’s followed by an uncoiling down the mound with the left hand holding the baseball last in the movement.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
Media vita’s slowly uncoiling intensity got me through at first.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 21, 2020
As she spoke, the words uncoiling through her, she felt her heartbeat quickening.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
