coin

[ koin ]
See synonyms for coin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money.

  2. a number of such pieces.

  1. Informal. money; cash: He's got plenty of coin in the bank.

  2. Architecture. quoin (defs. 1, 2).

  3. Archaic. a corner cupboard of the 18th century.

adjective
  1. operated by, or containing machines operated by, inserting a coin or coins into a slot: a coin laundry.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make (coinage) by stamping metal: The mint is coining pennies.

  2. to convert (metal) into coinage: The mint used to coin gold into dollars.

  1. to make; invent; fabricate: to coin an expression.

  2. Metalworking. to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.: Compare emboss (def. 3).

verb (used without object)
  1. British Informal. to counterfeit, especially to make counterfeit money.

Idioms about coin

  1. coin money, Informal. to make or gain money rapidly: Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.

  2. 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.

  1. the other side of the coin, the other side, aspect, or point of view; alternative consideration.

Origin of coin

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coyn(e), coygne, from Anglo-French; Middle French coin, cuigne “wedge, corner, die,” from Latin cuneus “wedge”

Other words from coin

  • coin·a·ble, adjective
  • coin·er, noun
  • mis·coin, verb
  • re·coin, verb (used with object)

Words Nearby coin

Other definitions for COIN (2 of 2)

COIN
[ koin ]

noun, adjective

Origin of COIN

2
co(unter)in(surgency)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use coin in a sentence

  • It was a mighty simple transaction, but it produced some startling results for me, that same coin-spinning.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • A bezant was a gold coin, originally struck at Byzantium, whence the name.

  • The soldiers so frequently threw away copper coin given them in change as valueless, that many natives discontinued to offer it.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • And putting his hand in his pocket, he drew out a golden coin, and slipped it into Donald's hand.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • It was not practicable to deny a legal-tender value to so much Mexican, and Spanish-Philippine coin in circulation.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for coin

coin

/ (kɔɪn) /


noun
  1. a metal disc or piece used as money

  2. metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc: Related adjective: nummary

  1. architect a variant spelling of quoin

  2. pay a person back in his own coin to treat a person in the way that he has treated others

  3. the other side of the coin the opposite view of a matter

verb
  1. (tr) to make or stamp (coins)

  2. (tr) to make into a coin

  1. (tr) to fabricate or invent (words, etc)

  2. (tr) informal to make (money) rapidly (esp in the phrase coin it in)

  3. to coin a phrase said ironically after one uses a cliché

Origin of coin

1
C14: from Old French: stamping die, from Latin cuneus wedge

Derived 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

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.