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 rēkoil′) 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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] re·coiler n. |
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