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Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged.

recoil, shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail mean to draw back in fear or distaste. recoil implies a start or movement away through shock, fear, or disgust.

us / ˈri·kɔɪl, rɪˈkɔɪl / the sudden, backward movement that a gun makes when it is fired (Definition of recoil from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

The recoil of a gun is the quick backward movement that it makes when it is fired. I assembled the weapon, checked the firing and recoil mechanism and loaded it.

Definition of recoil verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Recoil is the backward movement experienced by an object when it expels another object, typically observed in firearms or rockets. This phenomenon occurs due to Newton's third law of motion, which …

A recoil is a movement backwards, usually from some force or impact. The recoil of a gun is a backward movement caused by momentum. Your trip to the shooting range might make your mom recoil — …

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).

RECOIL definition: to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust. See examples of recoil used in a sentence.