recoil.
A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking.
Meaning & usage
A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking.
the recoil of nature, or of the blood
The state or condition of having recoiled.
The 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.
An escapement in which, after each beat, the scape-wheel recoils slightly.
Where this word comes from
From Old French reculer. Further from Latin re- + cūlus.
To pull back, especially in disgust, horror or astonishment.
He recoiled in disgust when he saw the mess.
To recoil before an opponent.
Of a firearm: to quickly push back when fired.
To retire, withdraw.
Where this word comes from
From Old French reculer. Further from Latin re- + cūlus.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.