recoil

re·coil

Use recoil in a sentence

A woman recoils.

verb

To recoil is to spring back or back away.

When you jump backwards in horror away from a dead body you have just spotted, this is an example of recoil.
When a gun kicks back when fired, this is an example of recoil.

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MLA Style

"recoil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil>.

APA Style

recoil. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil

recoil

1. to draw back, fall back, or stagger back; retreat
2. to start or shrink back, as in fear, surprise, or disgust
to fly back when released, as a spring, or kick back when fired, as a gun
to return to or as to the starting point or source; react (on or upon)

Origin of recoil

Middle English recoilen from Old French reculer from re-, back + cul from Classical Latin culus, the anus, buttocks: see culet

the act of recoiling
the state of having recoiled; reaction
the distance through which a gun, spring, etc. recoils

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"recoil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil>.

APA Style

recoil. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil

recoil

intransitive verb

re·coiled, re·coil·ing, re·coils

To spring back, as upon firing.
To shrink back, as in fear or repugnance.
To fall back; return: “Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent” ( Arthur Conan Doyle )

noun

The backward action of a firearm upon firing.
The act or state of recoiling; reaction.

Origin of recoil

Middle English recoilen from Old French reculer re- re- cul buttocks ( from Latin cūlus ; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots.)

Related Forms:

re·coil′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"recoil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil>.

APA Style

recoil. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Recoil

Noun

(plural recoils)

A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking.
the recoil of nature, or of the blood
The state or condition of having recoiled.
(firearms) The amount of energy transmitted back to the shooter from a firearm which has fired. Recoil is a function of the weight of the weapon, the weight of the projectile, and the speed at which it leaves the muzzle.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present recoils, present participle recoiling, simple past and past participle recoiled)

(intransitive, now rare) To retreat before an opponent. [from 14th c.]
Milton
Evil on itself shall back recoil.
De Quincey
The solemnity of her demeanor made it impossible [...] that we should recoil into our ordinary spirits.
To pull back, especially in disgust, horror or astonishment. [from 16th c.]
He recoiled in disgust when he saw the mess.

Origin

From Old French reculer.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.