coin

Pronunciation: /kɔɪn/

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Definition of coin

noun

a flat disc or piece of metal with an official stamp, used as money: she opened her purse and took out a coin gold and silver coins
[mass noun] money in the form of coins:large amounts of coin and precious metal
(coins) one of the suits in some tarot packs, corresponding to pentacles in others.

verb

[with object]

1make (coins) by stamping metal: guineas and half-guineas were coined
make (metal) into coins.
British informal earn a lot of (money) quickly and easily:the company was coining it in at the rate of £90 a second

2invent (a new word or phrase):he coined the term ‘desktop publishing’

Phrases

the other side of the coin: the opposite aspect of a matter: many jobs have been lost, but the other side of the coin is that firms may now be hiring more workers
pay someone back in their own coin: retaliate by similar behaviour: paying Diane back in her own coin always seemed to backfire
to coin a phrase: said when introducing a new expression or a variation on a familiar one, or ironically to show one’s awareness that one is using a hackneyed expression:she was, to coin a phrase, swept off her feet

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French coin 'wedge, corner, die', coigner 'to mint', from Latin cuneus 'wedge'. The original sense was 'cornerstone', later 'angle or wedge' (senses now spelled quoin); in late Middle English the term denoted a die for stamping money, or a piece of money produced by such a die

coin in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of coin in the US English dictionary

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Other

coin

noun

verb

Phrases

the other side of the coin

pay someone back in their own coin

to coin a phrase

Origin:

coin in other Oxford dictionaries

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