1
2
a
: a usually flat piece of metal issued by governmental authority as money
b
: metal money
c
: something resembling a coin especially in shape
d
: a unit of a cryptocurrency
I also caution market participants against promoting or touting the offer and sale of coins without first determining whether the securities laws apply to those actions.—
Jay Clayton
Jay Clayton3
: something used as if it were money (as in verbal or intellectual exchange)
perhaps wisecracks … are respectable literary coin in the U.S.—The Times Literary Supplement (London)
The Times Literary Supplement (London)would repay him with the full coin of his mind—Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming4
: something having two different and usually opposing sides
—usually used in the phrase the other side of the coin
5
informal
: money
I'm in it for the coin—Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
coined; coining; coins
Examples of coin in a Sentence
Noun
I have a dollar in coins.
seeking a job that pays plenty of coin
Verb
The coach coined the phrase “refuse to lose.”
William Shakespeare is believed to have coined many words.
The nation plans to coin more money.
Recent Examples on the Web
Amber Cardullo, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
The Chargers won the coin-toss, deferred and kicked to the Chiefs.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
The phrase was coined in 1995 as part of a graph that Gartner analyst Jackie Fenn used to illustrate how inflated expectations can lead to a period of disillusionment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2025
Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com, 21 June 2017
See All Example Sentences for coin
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
As a nod to the back-in-style nature of the trend, tie the outfit together with a vintage coin purse-style bag.
—Amber Cardullo, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
The Chargers won the coin-toss, deferred and kicked to the Chiefs.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
The Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA coined the term corn moon, according to the Maine Farmer's Almanac, since this was the time for gathering their main staple crops of corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and wild rice.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
The phrase was coined in 1995 as part of a graph that Gartner analyst Jackie Fenn used to illustrate how inflated expectations can lead to a period of disillusionment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The victim told him where to find a bedroom safe and coin jar, which together contained $230.
—Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com, 21 June 2017
See All Example Sentences for coin
Cite this Entry
“Coin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coin. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coin
1 of 3 noun1
: a piece of metal put out by a government authority as money
2
: metal money
three dollars in coin
coin
3 of 3 adjective1
: of or relating to coins
a coin show
2
: operated by coins
a laundromat's coin washers
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