recoil

re·coil

(rĭ-koil′)

intr.v. re·coiled, re·coil·ing, re·coils

1. To spring back, as upon firing.

2. To shrink back, as in fear or repugnance.

3. To fall back; return: "Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent" (Arthur Conan Doyle).

n. (also rē′koil′)

1. The backward action of a firearm upon firing.

2. The act or state of recoiling; reaction.

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

re·coil′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

recoil

vb (intr)

1. to jerk back, as from an impact or violent thrust

2. (often foll by from) to draw back in fear, horror, or disgust: to recoil from the sight of blood.

3. (foll by: on or upon) to go wrong, esp so as to hurt the perpetrator

4. (Atomic Physics) (of a nucleus, atom, molecule, or elementary particle) to change momentum as a result of the emission of a photon or particle

5. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery)

a. the backward movement of a gun when fired

b. the distance moved

6. (Atomic Physics) the motion acquired by a particle as a result of its emission of a photon or other particle

7. the act of recoiling

[C13: from Old French reculer, from re- + cul rump, from Latin cūlus]

reˈcoiler n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re-coil

(riˈkɔɪl)

v.t., v.i.

to coil again.

[1860–65]

re•coil

(v. rɪˈkɔɪl; n. ˈriˌkɔɪl, rɪˈkɔɪl)
v.i.

1. to start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.

2. to spring or fly back, as in consequence of force of impact or of a discharge of ammunition: The rifle recoiled with a powerful slam.

3. to spring or come back; rebound (usu. fol. by on or upon): plots recoiling upon the plotters.

4. to undergo a change in momentum as a result either of a collision with an atom, a nucleus, or a particle or of the emission of a particle.

5. the act or an instance of recoiling.

6. the distance through which a weapon moves backward after discharging.

[1175–1225; Middle English recoilen, reculen < Old French reculer=re- re- + -culer, v. derivative of cul rump]

recoil

Past participle: recoiled
Gerund: recoiling

Imperative
recoil
recoil

Present
I recoil
you recoil
he/she/it recoils
we recoil
you recoil
they recoil

Preterite
I recoiled
you recoiled
he/she/it recoiled
we recoiled
you recoiled
they recoiled

Present Continuous
I am recoiling
you are recoiling
he/she/it is recoiling
we are recoiling
you are recoiling
they are recoiling

Present Perfect
I have recoiled
you have recoiled
he/she/it has recoiled
we have recoiled
you have recoiled
they have recoiled

Past Continuous
I was recoiling
you were recoiling
he/she/it was recoiling
we were recoiling
you were recoiling
they were recoiling

Past Perfect
I had recoiled
you had recoiled
he/she/it had recoiled
we had recoiled
you had recoiled
they had recoiled

Future
I will recoil
you will recoil
he/she/it will recoil
we will recoil
you will recoil
they will recoil

Future Perfect
I will have recoiled
you will have recoiled
he/she/it will have recoiled
we will have recoiled
you will have recoiled
they will have recoiled

Future Continuous
I will be recoiling
you will be recoiling
he/she/it will be recoiling
we will be recoiling
you will be recoiling
they will be recoiling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been recoiling
you have been recoiling
he/she/it has been recoiling
we have been recoiling
you have been recoiling
they have been recoiling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been recoiling
you will have been recoiling
he/she/it will have been recoiling
we will have been recoiling
you will have been recoiling
they will have been recoiling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been recoiling
you had been recoiling
he/she/it had been recoiling
we had been recoiling
you had been recoiling
they had been recoiling

Conditional
I would recoil
you would recoil
he/she/it would recoil
we would recoil
you would recoil
they would recoil

Past Conditional
I would have recoiled
you would have recoiled
he/she/it would have recoiled
we would have recoiled
you would have recoiled
they would have recoiled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	recoil - the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired kick motion, movement - a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
	2.	recoil - a movement back from an impact backlash, rebound, repercussion motion, movement - a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something bouncing, bounce - rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts) resiliency, resilience - an occurrence of rebounding or springing back carom, ricochet - a glancing rebound
Verb	1.	recoil - draw back, as with fear or pain; "she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf" cringe, flinch, funk, quail, wince, shrink, squinch move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" shrink back, retract - pull away from a source of disgust or fear
	2.	recoil - come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; "Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble" backfire, backlash hap, happen, occur, come about, take place, go on, pass off, fall out, pass - come to pass; "What is happening?"; "The meeting took place off without an incidence"; "Nothing occurred that seemed important"
	3.	recoil - spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide" bounce, rebound, ricochet, take a hop, resile, spring, bound, reverberate kick back, recoil, kick - spring back, as from a forceful thrust; "The gun kicked back into my shoulder" bound off, skip - bound off one point after another carom - rebound after hitting; "The car caromed off several lampposts" bound, jump, leap, spring - move forward by leaps and bounds; "The horse bounded across the meadow"; "The child leapt across the puddle"; "Can you jump over the fence?"
	4.	recoil - spring back, as from a forceful thrust; "The gun kicked back into my shoulder" kick back, kick bounce, rebound, ricochet, take a hop, resile, spring, recoil, bound, reverberate - spring back; spring away from an impact; "The rubber ball bounced"; "These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide"

recoil

noun

2. kickback, kick The policeman fires again, tensed against the recoil.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

recoil

verb

1. To jerk backward, as a gun upon firing:

2. To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust:

noun

An act of drawing back in an involuntary or instinctive fashion:

Translations

إرْتِداديَرْتَد إلى الوَرَاء خوفايَرْتَد المَدْفَع عن إطْلاق النار

couvnouttrhnout zpětzpětný náraz

tilbageslagvigen tilbage

visszahõkölvisszarúgvisszarúgás

hrökkva undankastast afturòaî aî hrökkva undan

atsistatsitiensnovērsties

spätný náraztrhnúť späť

geri tepmegeri tepmekürkmeürkmekürküp geri çekilmek

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

recoil

[rɪˈkɔɪl]

[ˈriːkɔɪl] n [gun] → recul m

recoil

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

recoil

(rəˈkoil) verb

1. to move back or away, usually quickly, in horror or fear. He recoiled at/from the sight of the murdered child.

2. (of guns when fired) to jump back.

(ˈriːkoil) noun

the act of recoiling.