recoil

verb re·coil \ ri-ˈkȯi(-ə)l \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of recoil

intransitive verb

1 a : to fall back under pressure

b : to shrink back physically or emotionally

2 : to spring back to or as if to a starting point : rebound

3 obsolete : degenerate

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Examples of recoil in a Sentence

We recoiled in horror at the sight of his wounded arm.
He recoiled from her touch.
The rifle recoiled and bruised my shoulder.

Recent Examples of recoil from the Web

Six years later, the hardened NFL follower in all of us just recoils.

— conor orr, SI.com, "Will Robert Griffin III Rebound in Baltimore?," 4 Apr. 2018
Moon’s bill doesn’t stop at bump stocks, which use a semiautomatic gun’s recoil to mimic the speed of an automatic weapon.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Bump stocks will be banned under gun control bill passed by Maryland General Assembly," 4 Apr. 2018
When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.

— kevin cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "He lived like every day might be his last, and then one day it was," 2 Apr. 2018
Moreover, regulators would likely recoil at either combination.

— paul j. davies, WSJ, "Barclays: Too Big For a Deal, Too Small to Compete," 26 Mar. 2018
When Grayson Allen does it at Duke, the country recoils.

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: Whether he's good Lance or bad Lance, he's our Lance," 7 Mar. 2018
But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war.

— mark landler and jim tankersley, New York Times, "Trump Hits China With Stiff Trade Measures," 22 Mar. 2018
This sort of collision only requires that the atom recoil slightly and jiggle in place for a bit, and atoms have complete freedom to do that.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Many rings, not one, create a laser to confound us all," 2 Feb. 2018
That creates a clear opportunity for Democrats with white-collar professionals who are already recoiling from Trump on personal and cultural grounds -- and are more open toward global engagement than the GOP's populist wing.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Somebody should tell Democrats they've become the free trade party," 13 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'recoil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of recoil

Middle English reculen, recoilen, from Anglo-French reculer, recuiler, from re- + cul backside — more at culet

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

recoil Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of recoil

recoil, shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail mean to draw back in fear or distaste. recoil implies a start or movement away through shock, fear, or disgust.

- recoiled at the suggestion of stealing

shrink suggests an instinctive recoil through sensitiveness, scrupulousness, or cowardice.

- shrank from the unpleasant truth

flinch implies a failure to endure pain or face something dangerous or frightening with resolution.

- faced her accusers without flinching

wince suggests a slight involuntary physical reaction (such as a start or recoiling).

- winced in pain

blench implies fainthearted flinching.

- stood their ground without blenching

quail suggests shrinking and cowering in fear.

- quailed before the apparition

recoil

noun re·coil \ ˈrē-ˌkȯi(-ə)l , ri-ˈkȯi(-ə)l \

Definition of recoil

1 : the act or action of recoiling; especially : the kickback of a gun upon firing

2 : reaction

the recoil from the rigors of Calvinism
—Edmund Wilson

See recoil defined for English-language learners

Examples of recoil in a Sentence

The gun has a sharp recoil.

Recent Examples of recoil from the Web

Those policy concerns are reinforcing the cultural and stylistic suburban recoil from Trump visible in both polls and the 2017 election results from Virginia to Alabama.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Small-town America has gotten an economic jolt under Trump," 20 Mar. 2018
Such bump-fire devices use the recoil of a semiautomatic firearm to rapidly pull the trigger, mimicking fully automatic firing.

— christal hayes, USA TODAY, "Ban bump stocks? Justice Department moves to make them illegal to own or sell," 10 Mar. 2018
This device involved a spring — basically, the recoil of the gun would compress the spring, and then the spring would push the gun back forward into the user’s trigger finger.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Trump is talking about doing something that might be illegal — again," 27 Feb. 2018
Miami Herald reporter Chuck Rabin tries out the simulator using a Glock pistol with a recoil kit designed to be used in simulators at the Miami-Dade police firearms training facility.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "Even with years of training, stopping live shooter is incredibly hard, experts say | Miami Herald," 15 Mar. 2018
Bump stocks essentially modify a semi-automatic rifle to use the weapon's recoil to replicate fully automatic firing.

— ryan martin, Indianapolis Star, "Man with AR-15-style rifle outside Indianapolis Women's March: What we know," 12 Mar. 2018
Light, precise and with little recoil, the Colt Armalite Rifle-15 Sporter hit the market in the early 1960s as the first civilian version of the military's M16 rifle.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Loved and loathed: How the AR-15 became ‘America’s rifle’," 3 Mar. 2018
Would Minnesota’s untested young core recoil or thrive in the playoff debuts for Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins?

— aj neuharth-keusch, USA TODAY, "NBA story lines: Eight things to watch during final stretch of regular season," 23 Feb. 2018
Bump firing uses the recoil of a legal semi-automatic firearm to fire like a fully automatic weapon.

— danny cevallos, NBC News, "The law may stop Trump from ordering ‘bump stocks’ out of business," 23 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of recoil

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

RECOIL Defined for English Language Learners

recoil

verb

Definition of recoil for English Language Learners

: to quickly move away from something that is shocking, frightening, or disgusting : to react to something with shock or fear
of a gun : to move back suddenly when fired