coin
a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.
a number of such pieces.
Informal. money; cash: He's got plenty of coin in the bank.
Architecture. quoin (defs. 1, 2).
Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.
operated by, or containing machines operated by, inserting a coin or coins into a slot: a coin laundry.
to make (coinage) by stamping metal: The mint is coining pennies.
to convert (metal) into coinage: The mint used to coin gold into dollars.
to make; invent; fabricate: to coin an expression.
Metalworking. to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.: Compare emboss (def. 3).
British Informal. to counterfeit, especially to make counterfeit money.
Idioms about coin
coin money, Informal. to make or gain money rapidly: Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.
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.
the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.
Origin of coin
1Other words from coin
- coin·a·ble, adjective
- coin·er, noun
- mis·coin, verb
- re·coin, verb (used with object)
Other definitions for COIN (2 of 2)
Origin of COIN
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use coin in a sentence
It was his duty to superintend the recoining of the money of England, which had been debased by dishonest officials at the mint.
The Story of Great Inventions | Elmer Ellsworth BurnsThere is a perpetual refining and recoining of the current wisdom of life and conversation.
Birds and Poets | John BurroughsIn 1830 Belgium was separated from Holland, and it was not till 1844 that the recoining of the old money was seriously undertaken.
The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 | William Arthur Shaw
British Dictionary definitions for coin
/ (kɔɪn) /
a metal disc or piece used as money
metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc: Related adjective: nummary
architect a variant spelling of quoin
pay a person back in his own coin to treat a person in the way that he has treated others
the other side of the coin the opposite view of a matter
(tr) to make or stamp (coins)
(tr) to make into a coin
(tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)
(tr) informal to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in)
to coin a phrase said ironically after one uses a cliché
Origin of coin
1Derived forms of coin
- coinable, adjective
- coiner, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with coin
In addition to the idiom beginning with coin
- coin money
also see:
- other side of the coin
- pay back (in someone's own coin)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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