coin

1 noun

1 (C) a piece of metal, usually flat and round, that is used as money

-compare bill 1 (3), note 1 (5)

2 toss/flip a coin to choose or decide something by throwing a coin into the air and guessing which side of it will show when it falls: Let's toss a coin to see who goes first.

3 the other side of the coin a different or opposite way of thinking about something: Children should learn to respect the police, but the other side of the coin is that the police should earn that respect.

4 two sides of the same coin two problems or situations that are so closely connected that they are really just two parts of the same thing: You can't cure poverty without also doing something about improving education; they're two sides of the same coin.

5 (U) money in the form of metal coins

6 pay sb back in their own coin BrE old-fashioned to treat someone in the same unpleasant way as they have treated you

2 verb (T)

1 to invent a new word or expression, especially one that many people start to use: The term `Information Highway' was coined a few years ago.

2 to coin a phrase spoken used as a joke when you have just said something so familiar and ordinary that it is funny: "Alone at last," he said, "to coin a phrase!"

3 coin money/coin it BrE spoken to earn a lot of money very quickly: That new restaurant on the corner must be coining it.

4 to make pieces of money from metal