coins

IPA/kˈɔɪnz/
KK[kˈɔɪnz]IPA/kˈɔɪnz/

coins — noun

1. A disc-shaped piece of metal that an official authority produces so people can u

1.nounA1
Definition

A disc-shaped piece of metal that an official authority produces so people can use it as payment.

Example

Fatima found a few coins under the sofa cushions while cleaning.

countable: a few coins, two coins

An old silver coin in the drawer had a picture of a king on it.

Common collocations
  • collect coins
  • rare coins
  • gold coins
  • silver coins
  • a handful of coins
Synonyms
  • token

    a shaped piece of metal used instead of a coin in a specific context, like a bus token

  • piece

    informal and less specific; 'a fifty-pence piece'

Antonyms
  • note

    UK; paper money with a value written on it

  • bill

    US; paper money

Usage Note

Countable — each individual piece is 'a coin', and a set of them are 'coins'. Frequently used with 'collect', 'find', 'count'.

Common Mistakes

I paid with coin.
I paid with coins.
when referring to metal money in general, use the plural form 'coins' or the uncountable noun 'change'.

2. Metal money thought of as a general type of payment, especially the small amount

2.nounA2
Definition

Metal money thought of as a general type of payment, especially the small amounts people carry for everyday purchases.

Example

The bus driver asked if I had coins for the fare instead of a big note.

coins + for [purpose]

Olga emptied her purse and counted the coins for the parking meter.

Common collocations
  • pay in coins
  • accept coins
  • coins for the meter
  • a handful of coins
Synonyms
  • change

    more common in everyday speech; 'Do you have change for the bus?'

  • loose change

    coins that are not stored in a wallet or purse

Antonyms

Usage Note

Uncountable when referring to coins as a category of money: 'He paid in coins.' To refer to individual pieces, use the countable sense (noun sense 1).

Common Mistakes

I need a coin for the vending machine' (when you mean some coins in general).
I need coins for the vending machine.
machines usually need several coins or accept any coins, so the plural is more natural.

coins — verb

coins — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A coin is a single physical piece of metal money. 'Change' is the broader everyday term for coins received back after paying or for small amounts needed for machines ('Do you have change for the bus?'). 'Currency' refers to the whole money system of a country and includes notes, coins, and digital money. 'Note' (British) and 'bill' (American) are the paper equivalents of coins — larger denominations that are flat and made of paper or polymer. For example, you might say: 'I dropped a coin in the vending machine but it jammed, so I used a dollar bill instead.' When travelling abroad, you exchange your currency for the local currency, which comes in both notes and coins.

coin ↗change ↗currency ↗note ↗bill ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in coins
  • a handful of coins
  • a stack of coins
  • by coin

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'coin' entered English from Old French 'coigne', meaning a wedge or a stamping die. The Latin source 'cuneus' meant 'wedge' — the same word that gives us 'quoin' (a wedge-shaped stone in architecture). The meaning shifted from the die used to stamp metal to the stamped metal piece itself. By the 14th century, 'coin' already referred to the metal money that we recognise today. The verb senses followed: first the literal meaning 'to stamp metal into coins', then the figurative sense 'to invent a word' (as if stamping it into existence), and later the informal sense of making money rapidly.