Library / English Dictionary

COIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops

Example:

a coil of rope

Synonyms:

coil; helix; spiral; volute; whorl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coil"):

hank (a coil of rope or wool or yarn)

Derivation:

coil (wind around something in coils or loops)

coil (to wind or move in a spiral course)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Reactor consisting of a spiral of insulated wire that introduces inductance into a circuit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

reactor (an electrical device used to introduce reactance into a circuit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coil"):

armature (coil in which voltage is induced by motion through a magnetic field)

astatic coils (an arrangement of coils used in sensitive electrical instruments; the coils are arranged to give zero resultant external magnetic field when a current passes through them and to have zero electromotive force induced in them by an external magnetic field)

choke; choke coil; choking coil (a coil of low resistance and high inductance used in electrical circuits to pass direct current and attenuate alternating current)

field coil; field winding (the electric coil around a field magnet that produces the magneto motive force to set up the flux in an electric machine)

induction coil (a coil for producing a high voltage from a low-voltage source)

primary; primary coil; primary winding (coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit)

head; read/write head ((computer science) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk)

secondary; secondary coil; secondary winding (coil such that current is induced in it by passing a current through the primary coil)

solenoid (a coil of wire around an iron core; becomes a magnet when current passes through the coil)

tickler coil (a small coil in series with the anode of a vacuum tube and coupled to the grid to provide feedback)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Tubing that is wound in a spiral

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

tube; tubing (conduit consisting of a long hollow object (usually cylindrical) used to hold and conduct objects or liquids or gases)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coil"):

condenser (a hollow coil that condenses by abstracting heat)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A contraceptive device placed inside a woman's womb

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

birth control device; contraceptive; contraceptive device; preventative; preventive; prophylactic device (an agent or device intended to prevent conception)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A transformer that supplies high voltage to spark plugs in a gasoline engine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

transformer (an electrical device by which alternating current of one voltage is changed to another voltage)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)

Synonyms:

coil; curl; curlicue; gyre; ringlet; roll; scroll; whorl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("coil" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coil"):

corolla ((botany) the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer of the perianth)

calyx ((botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green)

verticil (a whorl of leaves growing around a stem)

Derivation:

coil (wind around something in coils or loops)

coil (to wind or move in a spiral course)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wind around something in coils or loops

Synonyms:

coil; curl; loop

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "coil" is one way to...):

roll; twine; wind; wrap (arrange or or coil around)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence examples:

They coil the wire around the stick

The wires coil around the stick

Antonym:

uncoil (unwind or untwist)

Derivation:

coil (a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops)

coil (a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make without a potter's wheel

Example:

This famous potter hand-builds all of her vessels

Synonyms:

coil; hand-build; handbuild

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "coil" is one way to...):

forge; form; mold; mould; shape; work (make something, usually for a specific function)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

To wind or move in a spiral course

Example:

the young people gyrated on the dance floor

Synonyms:

coil; gyrate; spiral

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "coil" is one way to...):

turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

coil (a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops)

coil (a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals))

Credits

 Context examples: 

This protein is comprised of the N-terminal coiled-coil domain of breakpoint cluster region protein fused to the C-terminal JH1 tyrosine kinase domain of tyrosine-protein kinase JAK2.

(BCR/JAK2 Fusion Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Topoisomerase I relaxes negative super-coiled DNA during replication and transcription.

(Camptothecin Analogue TLC388, NCI Thesaurus)

The N-terminal half contains putative nuclear localization signals and a coiled-coil domain that seems to promote MLN51 oligomerization.

(MLN51 Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Testing the RF shield around the coils of an MRI device for its ability to provide effective screening against electrical (eddy) currents induced by gradient switching.

(Device Gradient Induced Field Effect Testing Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

The number of channels, or elements, in the head coil component of the device.

(Number of Coil Channels, NCI Thesaurus)

In half a minute he had reached the port scuppers and picked, out of a coil of rope, a long knife, or rather a short dirk, discoloured to the hilt with blood.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A coil of rope had been brought in, and under the direction of Jackson four men had been stationed to hold it.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A rod that sits within a coil, or a general term refering to the central, main part of a device.

(Core Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

A contraceptive device, which is shaped like a coil, and is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

(Contraceptive Coil, NICHD)

Coiled-coil domain-containing protein MTMR15 (1017 aa, ~114 kDa) is encoded by the human FAN1 gene.

(Coiled-Coil Domain-Containing Protein MTMR15, NCI Thesaurus)