| any of the bones of the wrist. |
| the tongue. |
coil1 (kɔɪl) ![]() | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to wind or gather (ropes, hair, etc) into loops or (of rope, hair, etc) to be formed in such loops |
| 2. | (intr) to move in a winding course |
| —n | |
| 3. | something wound in a connected series of loops |
| 4. | a single loop of such a series |
| 5. | an arrangement of pipes in a spiral or loop, as in a condenser |
| 6. | See also induction coil an electrical conductor wound into the form of a spiral, sometimes with a soft iron core, to provide inductance or a magnetic field |
| 7. | an intrauterine contraceptive device in the shape of a coil |
| 8. | the transformer in a petrol engine that supplies the high voltage to the sparking plugs |
| [C16: from Old French coillir to collect together; see | |
| 'coiler1 | |
| —n | |
| COIL chemical oxygen-iodine laser |
coil
in an electric circuit, one or more turns, usually roughly circular or cylindrical, of current-carrying wire designed to produce a magnetic field or to provide electrical resistance or inductance; in the latter case, a coil is also called a choke coil (see also inductance). A soft iron core placed within a coil produces an electromagnet. A cylindrical coil that moves a plunger within it by variations in the current through the coil is known as a solenoid (q.v.).
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