Meaning & use
coin
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To invent a new word or phrase, especially one that other people then start to use.
Grammar: Takes an object: the writer coined a phrase. Often used in the passive: the term was coined in 1990.
Patterns
- coin a word
- coin a phrase
- coin the term for something
The journalist coined the term 'brain drain'.
Who first coined the word 'selfie'?
The phrase was coined in the early days of the internet.
verbtransitivetechnical
To make metal into coins by stamping it.
Grammar: Takes an object and is now rare outside history or specialist writing: coin gold into money.
Patterns
- coin money
- coin silver
The royal mint coined silver into pennies.
Workers coined thousands of pieces each day.
Word forms
| third person singular | coins |
|---|---|
| past tense | coined |
| past participle | coined |
| -ing form | coining |
Common combinations
- coin a phrase
- To coin a phrase, he was over the moon.
- coin a term
- The sociologist coined a term for the trend.
- coin the word
- Shakespeare is said to have coined the word 'lonely'.
- newly coined
- A newly coined word often appears first in slang.
- coin money
- The mint coins money for the whole country.
Synonyms and how they differ
- invent
- Invent is broad and applies to machines or ideas, while coin applies mostly to words and expressions.
- create
- Create is neutral and can refer to anything made, whereas coin specifically refers to new language.
- originate
- Originate emphasizes where something first came from, while coin names the act of inventing a term.
- devise
- Devise suggests planning a clever method or plan, while coin points to a new word or phrase.
Word family
- coin noun
- A small piece of metal used as money
- coinage noun
- A newly invented word, or the system of coins in a country
- coined adjective
- Newly invented, as in a coined phrase
Practice
The writer ____ the phrase 'doomscrolling' in a magazine article.
Choose one answer.
Coined means invented a new word or phrase. Found and wrote down do not suggest invention, and named would need a thing being named.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.