COIN

¹

[koin]

noun

1. counterinsurgency.

coin

²

[koin]

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.

3. Informal.,  money; cash.

   He's got plenty of coin in the bank.

4. Architecture.,  quoin.

5. 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.

3. to make; invent; fabricate.

   to coin an expression.

4. Metalworking.,  to shape the surface of (metal) by squeezing between two dies.

verb (used without object)

1. British Informal.,  to counterfeit, especially to make counterfeit money.

coin

/ kɔɪn /

noun

1. a metal disc or piece used as money

2. metal currency, as opposed to securities, paper currency, etc

3. architect a variant spelling of quoin

4. to treat a person in the way that he has treated others

5. the opposite view of a matter

verb

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

2. (tr) to make into a coin

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

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

5. said ironically after one uses a cliché

Other Word Forms

• coiner noun
• coinable adjective
• miscoin verb
• recoin verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of coin¹

co(unter) in(surgency)

Origin of coin²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of coin¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

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.

3. coin money, to make or gain money rapidly.

   Those who own stock in that restaurant chain are coining money.

More idioms and phrases containing coin

• other side of the coin
• pay back (in someone's own coin)

Example Sentences

The term “Cuomosexual” was coined during the pandemic, when the governor gave daily briefings to the city at a time of crisis.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That makes them particularly attractive as a payments tool, and the new legislation has led to all manner of companies, including Walmart and Amazon.com, exploring how to issue or use their own coins.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A dramatic version of flipping a coin, if you will.

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The coins were selected with "great expertise", a statement to French media from the local authority said.

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A metal detectorist has discovered up to 15,000 Roman coins, which could be the biggest hoard ever discovered in Wales.

Read more on BBC