coil
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coil¹
- /kɔɪl/ UK, US
- /koj(ə)l/ British, Southern, Standard
- /koɪ(.ə)l/ Australia, New Zealand
- /kwaɪl/ Appalachia, obsolete
Rhymes with -ɔɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English coilen, from Old French coillir, cuillir (“to gather, pluck, pick, cull”) (modern French cueillir), from Latin colligō (“to gather together”), past participle collectus, from com- (“together”) + legō (“to gather”); compare legend. Doublet of cull.
noun coils
- Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral. the sinuous coils of a snake
- Any intrauterine device for contraception (originally coil-shaped). ‘I’m gonna go on the pill and get fitted for a coil. I don’t wanna be pregnant. Ever. Again!’
-
A coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow.
Similar: inductor
- A cylinder of clay.
- Entanglement; perplexity. What trifling coil do we mortals keep; Wake, eat, and drink, evacuate, and sleep.
verb coils · coiling · coiled
-
To wind or reel e.g. a wire or rope into regular rings, often around a centerpiece.
A simple transformer can be made by coiling two pieces of insulated copper wire around an iron heart.
Similar: spire
- To wind into loops (roughly) around a common center. The sailor coiled the free end of the hawser on the pier.
- To wind cylindrically or spirally. to coil a rope when not in use
- To build a pot (etc) with clay coils.
- To encircle and hold with, or as if with, coils. a. 1757, Thomas Edwards, sonnet to Mr. Nathanael Mason Pleasure coil thee in her dangerous snare
coil²
- /kɔɪl/ UK, US
- /koj(ə)l/ British, Southern, Standard
- /koɪ(.ə)l/ Australia, New Zealand
- /kwaɪl/ Appalachia, obsolete
Rhymes with -ɔɪl
Where it comes from
Unknown.
noun coils
- A noise, tumult, bustle, or turmoil. a. 1738, Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux, and John Ozell (translators), François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel And when he saw that all the dogs were flocking about her, yarring at the retardment of their access to her, and every way keeping such a coil with her as they are wont to do ab
coil³
- /kɔɪl/ UK, US
- /koj(ə)l/ British, Southern, Standard
- /koɪ(.ə)l/ Australia, New Zealand
- /kwaɪl/ Appalachia, obsolete
Rhymes with -ɔɪl
noun
- A wad of cash.
Coil⁴
proper noun Coils
- A surname.
COIL⁵
noun COILs
- Abbreviation of chemical oxygen-iodine laser
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: whorl, curlicue, gyre, gyrate, roll, loop, curl, scroll, ringlet, volute, spiral, helix, handbuild, winding, twist, helical
Translations
Every language
noun something wound
| Español | espiral, hélice |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | とぐろ toguro, 渦状 kajō, 螺旋 rasen |
| 中文 | 螺線 /螺线 luóxiàn, 螺旋 luóxuán |
| हिन्दी | कुंडली kuṇḍlī |
| Português | espiral |
| Français | spire |
| Deutsch | Spirale, Wickel, Rolle, Windung |
| Italiano | spirale |
| Ελληνικά | σπείρα speíra, κουλούρα kouloúra |
| Русский | спира́ль spirálʹ, кольцо́ kolʹcó, вито́к vitók |
| العربية | مِلَفّ milaff, وَشِيعَة wašīʕa |
noun coil of electrically conductive wire through which electricity can flow — see also inductor
| Español | bobina, bobinado, serpentino, arrollamiento, carrete, devanado |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | コイル koiru |
| 中文 | 線圈 /线圈 xiànquān |
| Português | bobina |
| Français | bobine |
| Deutsch | Spule |
| Italiano | bobina |
| Ελληνικά | πηνίο pinío |
| Русский | кату́шка katúška, боби́на bobína, шпу́лька špúlʹka |
| Tiếng Việt | cuộn cảm |
| العربية | وَشِيعَة wašīʕa |
verb wind into regular rings
| 中文 | 缠 chán |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | कुंडली kuṇḍlī |
| Português | enrolar |
| Français | enrouler, embobiner |
| Ελληνικά | περιελίσσω perielísso, περισπειρώ perispeiró, κουλουριάζω koulouriázo |
| Русский | свёртывать svjórtyvatʹ |
verb wind into loops
| Español | enrollar |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | कुंडली kuṇḍlī |
| Português | enrolar |
| Ελληνικά | περιελίσσω perielísso, περισπειρώ perispeiró |
| Русский | нама́тывать namátyvatʹ |
Talk about this word "coil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/coil. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. coil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/coil "coil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/coil.Cite this
@misc{coil_2026,
title = {coil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/coil},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
