coin
noun
a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
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coin
1 American
[koin]
/ kɔɪn /
noun
-
coins
plural
-
a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
-
a number of such pieces.
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Informal. money; cash.
He's got plenty of coin in the bank.
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Architecture. quoin.
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Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
coins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
coined,
past participle, past
-
coining
present participle
-
to make (coinage) by stamping metal.
The mint is coining pennies.
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to convert (metal) into coinage.
The mint used to coin gold into dollars.
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to make; invent; fabricate.
to coin an expression.
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Metalworking. to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.
verb (used without object)
-
coins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
coined,
past participle, past
-
coining
present participle
idioms
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the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.
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pay someone back in his / her own coin, to reciprocate or behave toward in a like way, especially inamicably; retaliate.
If they persist in teasing you, pay them back in their own coin.
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coin money, to make or gain money rapidly.
Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.
COIN
2
American
[koin]
/ kɔɪn /
noun
coin
British
/ kɔɪn /
noun
-
a metal disc or piece used as money
-
metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc
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architect a variant spelling of quoin
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to treat a person in the way that he has treated others
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the opposite view of a matter
verb
-
(tr) to make or stamp (coins)
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(tr) to make into a coin
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(tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)
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informal (tr) to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in )
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said ironically after one uses a cliché
coin
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
coinsimple
-
coinssimple
-
have coinedperfect
-
has coinedperfect
-
am coiningprogressive
-
are coiningprogressive
-
is coiningprogressive
-
have been coiningperfect progressive
-
has been coiningperfect progressive
Past
-
coinedsimple
-
had coinedperfect
-
was coiningprogressive
-
were coiningprogressive
-
had been coiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coin1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coyn(e), coygne, from Anglo-French; Middle French coin, cuigne “wedge, corner, die,” from Latin cuneus “wedge”
Origin of COIN2
co(unter) in(surgency)
Explanation
If you coin a phrase, that means you come up with a new way to say something, like the person who coined "webizens" to describe people who constantly use the Internet. The verb coin literally refers to making coins, the change you probably have in your pocket. The word can be used in a broader sense — creating something new, usually something related to language. For example, you could coin a phrase or a new word for “joke.” The language authorities would be proud — unlike federal authorities if you tried to coin money. That kind of coining is a criminal offense.
Vocabulary lists containing coin
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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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.
See Examples For:
Arduous tests loom during the second half of the season, however, making the chances of getting the nod from the CFP selection committee a coin flip at best.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
There used to be a clear edge for the team that won the coin flip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
A small nodule is called a "coin lesion" because on X-rays it looks like a coin, Professor Federico Venuta, head of Thoracic Surgery at the Policlinico Umberto 1 hospital in Rome, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Yaacov Katz says the legacy of 7 October is a coin with two sides.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Surely the Prince of Demons had no need for gold or coin, though if that was all the demon asked for, then he would gladly give it.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
And in March 2017, Futurism reported that “An AI Completed 360,000 Hours of Finance Work in Just Seconds,” in a story of JPMorgan’s “machine learning” successes due to its new program called COIN, Contract Intelligence.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 8, 2018
The strategy, known by its acronym COIN, would require as many as 40,000 additional American men and women in uniform in Afghanistan, his advisers told him.
From New York Times ● Jan. 1, 2017
Governor Hickenlooper, in his 2011 statement announcing COIN, described it as a “roadmap for making Colorado the best state for innovation and where every road must lead to new jobs.”
From Forbes ● Nov. 6, 2014
According to Demaree, Tunnell barred his soldiers from using the term COIN, shorthand for "counterinsurgency."
From Washington Post ● Oct. 14, 2010
Gold dust there was in plenty, but no COIN.
From Sally Dows by Bret Harte
A: I think the more esoteric coins will need to become more mainstream in terms of utility value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The puffin and bees also feature on coins, as part of the Royal Mint's redesigned 20p and £1 coins respectively.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Mint stopped manufacturing the one-cent coins, drawing hundreds of Honest Abe and Mary Todd impersonators.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
Hasler compared that coin with other Roman coins from the same period and concluded that it was probably minted before September.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
All Samir owned was a pack mule, a pile of mottled wool, a few coins, the near-dead donkey Rostam, and now me—a pet monkey.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Margaret Hamilton was a trailblazer in her field, leading the team who developed the software for Nasa's Apollo missions, which coined the term "software engineering".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Ekerdt pointed me to a 1988 paper by consumer researcher Russell Belk, who coined the term “extended self” to describe this phenomenon.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
No one seems to know who coined the term, but the label wasn’t what mattered; it was the idea that the military was hiding a device that could fix everything wrong with you.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Canadian and European officials have stressed that the newly coined term for their relationship won’t amount to full membership of the trading bloc.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Schafer coined the terms keynote, soundmark, and sound signal to distinguish between different types of sounds, their connections to the environment, and our perception of them.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
However, Sarah Ockwell-Smith, who is widely credited with coining and popularising the term 'gentle parenting', strongly disagrees.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
In 2019, Trump praised the CEO for Apple’s domestic investments, accidentally coining the nickname “Tim Apple” in the process.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
The Canadian psychoanalyst and management consultant Elliott Jaques is often credited with coining the term “midlife crisis” in 1965.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Our fans’ love for McDonald’s beverages runs deep, from rallying for the return of Hi-C Orange Lavaburst to coining the iconic ‘Spicy Sprite,’” McDonald’s said in a statement to Barron’s.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
Age and weather had removed the first letter and the last—an R and an S—thereby coining a somewhat ominous word: OOM.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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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.
