I. coin 1 S3 /kɔɪn/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: 'three-sided piece, corner' , from Latin cuneus ; ⇨ ↑ cuneiform ]
1 . [countable] a piece of metal, usually flat and round, that is used as money ⇨ bill , note
2 . toss/flip a coin to choose or decide something by throwing a coin into the air and guessing which side of it will show when it falls:
Toss a coin to see who goes first.
3 . the other/opposite side of the coin a different or opposite way of thinking about something:
Making the rules is only part of it. How the rules are carried out is the other side of the coin.
4 . two sides of the same coin two problems or situations that are so closely connected that they are really just two parts of the same thing:
Great opportunity and great danger are two sides of the same coin.
5 . [uncountable] money in the form of metal coins
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ money what you use to buy things, in the form of notes or coins:
He spent all his money on computer equipment.
▪ cash money in the form of coins and notes:
I didn’t have any cash with me.
▪ currency the money used in a particular country:
The dollar gained in value against other currencies.
|
a single European currency
▪ change money in the form of coins of low value:
Do you have any small change?
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a pocketful of loose change
▪ note British English , bill American English a piece of paper money:
a £20 note
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a $5 bill
▪ coin a flat round piece of metal used as money:
She put some coins in the parking meter.
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He took a coin out of his pocket.
▪ a ten-pence/50-cent etc piece a coin worth a particular amount
II. coin 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to invent a new word or expression, especially one that many people start to use:
The word ‘aromatherapy’ was coined in the 1920s.
2 . to coin a phrase spoken said in a joking way when you use a very common expression, to show that you know it is used a lot:
He’d thought the flight would never – to coin a phrase – get off the ground.
3 . coin money/coin it (in) British English informal to earn a lot of money very quickly:
BT at its profitable peak was coining it at the rate of £90 a second.
4 . to make pieces of money from metal