coil

[ koil ]

/ kɔɪl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR coil ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to wind into continuous, regularly spaced rings one above the other: to coil a wire around a pencil.

to wind on a flat surface into rings one around the other: He coiled the rope on the deck.

to gather (rope, wire, etc.) into loops: She coiled the garden hose and hung it on the hook.

verb (used without object)

to form rings, spirals, etc.; gather or retract in a circular way: The snake coiled, ready to strike.

to move in or follow a winding course: The river coiled through the valley.

noun

a connected series of spirals or rings into which a rope or the like is wound.

a single such ring.

an arrangement of pipes, coiled or in a series, as in a radiator.

a continuous pipe having inlet and outlet, or flow and return ends.

Medicine/Medical. an intrauterine device.

Electricity.

a conductor, as a copper wire, wound up in a spiral or other form.
a device composed essentially of such a conductor.
ignition coil.

Philately.

a stamp issued in a roll, usually of 500 stamps, and usually perforated vertically or horizontally only.
a roll of such stamps.

Origin of coil

First recorded in 1605–15; perhaps variant of cull

OTHER WORDS FROM coil

coil·a·ble, adjective coil·a·bil·i·ty, noun un·coiled, adjective

Words nearby coil

coiffure, coiffurist, coign, coign of vantage, coigne, coil, coil spring, coimbatore, coimbra, coin, coin box

Example sentences from the Web for coiled

Like a Jack in the Box just sprung from coiled captivity, he begins rambling excitedly.

Rob Marshall Defends ‘Into the Woods’ |Kevin Fallon |December 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Other models, such as string theory, propose more dimensions, but those are coiled up too small to be seen.

Is the Cosmos Just a Big Hologram? |Matthew R. Francis |August 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The painting, packed mysteriously with a kind of coiled energy, is itself a little like a bomb about to go off.

Face to Face With ‘The Goldfinch,’ the Painting from Donna Tartt’s Novel |Malcolm Jones |December 1, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Each sentence is like a viper, coiled in on itself and ready to bite.

American Dreams, 1943: 'Two Serious Ladies' by Jane Bowles |Nathaniel Rich |May 30, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Where Citrus County felt like a coiled spring, the pace of A Million Heavens is sedate, diffused among a dozen or so characters.

3 Must-Read Offbeat Novels: ‘A Million Heavens,’ ‘The Investigation,’ ‘Office Girl’ |Drew Toal, Kevin Canfield, Daniel Roberts |July 6, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Between his outspread feet, a dog was coiled up, the only indifferent individual present, apparently unconcerned upon the subject.

The Humors of Falconbridge |Jonathan F. Kelley
Another brother was deeply absorbed in snipping off bits of coiled brass wire with a pair of pincers.

Spanish Vistas |George Parsons Lathrop
A genus of tube-inhabiting Annelides, in which the shelly tube is coiled into a spiral disc.

The Ancient Life History of the Earth |Henry Alleyne Nicholson
Tom went aft to light the fire, while I coiled away and made all snug forward.

Jacob Faithful |Captain Frederick Marryat
The string of pearls was coiled up in the midst of the roll of soiled muslin and the badge was pinned to one of the folds.

The Red Year |Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (1 of 2)

coil ¹

/ (kɔɪl) /

verb

to wind or gather (ropes, hair, etc) into loops or (of rope, hair, etc) to be formed in such loops

(intr) to move in a winding course

noun

something wound in a connected series of loops

a single loop of such a series

an arrangement of pipes in a spiral or loop, as in a condenser

an electrical conductor wound into the form of a spiral, sometimes with a soft iron core, to provide inductance or a magnetic field See also induction coil

an intrauterine contraceptive device in the shape of a coil

the transformer in a petrol engine that supplies the high voltage to the sparking plugs

Derived forms of coil

coiler, noun

Word Origin for coil

C16: from Old French coillir to collect together; see cull

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (2 of 2)

coil ²

/ (kɔɪl) /

noun

the troubles and activities of the world (in the Shakespearean phrase this mortal coil)

Word Origin for coil

C16: of unknown origin

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

coil

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of coil

OTHER WORDS FROM coil

Words nearby coil

Example sentences from the Web for coiled

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (1 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of coil

Word Origin for coil

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for coil

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

coil

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of coil

OTHER WORDS FROM coil

Words nearby coil

Words related to coiled

Example sentences from the Web for coiled

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for coiled (1 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of coil

Word Origin for coil

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for coil

British Dictionary definitions for coiled (1 of 2)