How to Use coil in a Sentence

coil

1 of 2 noun
  • The coil might have caught on his hoodie.
    — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Clean the coils with a cloth dampened with dish soap.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Clean the coils with a cloth dampened with dish soap.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Look at the looseness, the pre-coil of the body.
    — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Use a damp cloth with dish soap to gently clean the coils.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Use a damp cloth with dish soap to gently clean the coils.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 1 May 2026
  • Use a damp cloth with dish soap to gently clean the coils.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2025
  • Read on and trim coils, kinks, waves, and curls the right way, while at home.
    — Akili King, Vogue, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Turn on each coil to high for three minutes to burn off the mess.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
  • His grill is on full blast at all times to keep the coils sizzling.
    — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Or maybe there's some ice buildup inside the coil, that's a big sign.
    — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 5 June 2023
  • Next to the rotor sits the driving coil.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Don't submerge the coils in water or use soap on them.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The coil forms a blood clot, blocks blood flow, and keeps the aneurysm from bursting.
    — Alyssa Hui, Health, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Carl felt another coil on his back.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Clear debris and weeds from around outdoor units and clean the coils.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2026
  • The same coils were used, but performance changed.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Feb. 2026
  • To my surprise, my tight coils slipped right through the brush with no tension.
    — Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Three gaffers rush by with heavy coils of electric cord slung over their shoulders.
    — Jade Chang, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
  • By then, much of your coil will have turned to ash and your meat will be done, or nearly so.
    — Scott Canon, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024
  • The higher the number, the curlier the hair and the tighter the coil.
    — Sabina Wizemann, Good Housekeeping, 8 Sep. 2023
  • But tighter curls and coils can benefit from this product, too.
    — Eden Stuart, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Since then, he’s worn fades, braids, locs, coils, and curls—and even embraced being bald.
    — Larry Stansbury, Essence, 3 Sep. 2025
  • When shopping for an innerspring, look for the coil height.
    — Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 19 Mar. 2026
  • These are not your old-fashioned coil burners, the ones on which many of us burned a hand or two.
    — Karen Heller, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2023
  • In the first selfie, Meg wore a black two-piece set with a fresh face and her cute coils.
    — Gabi Thorne, Allure, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Under the electric coils are metal discs called drip pans that help catch food residue.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
  • With coil springs out back instead of leaf springs, the ride is noticeably smoother.
    — Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2022
  • His tight coils covered our floor, and the next day all the kids on the school bus laughed at the nicks on his head.
    — Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Wright loves low Afro haircuts, comb coils, as well as wash-and-gos, for short and fine hair.
    — Ashley Alese Edwards, Glamour, 26 Aug. 2025

coil

2 of 2 verb
  • The snake coiled around its prey.
  • The cat coiled up into a ball.
  • A long scarf was coiled around her neck.
  • She coiled the loose thread around her finger.
  • Just grab it and don’t get coiled.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Simply coil the rope to leave space for the plant’s roots to grow through.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Overnight, the smoke coiled upward and gave way to acid rain that stained the city black.
    — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Is there a frequency to loose faggotry coiled deep in the gut?
    — Samuel Ernest, Longreads, 2 May 2023
  • Some of their tentacles are short and straight while others are long and coiled.
    — Caroline Wilburn, Houston Chronicle, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Think room for a charging cable, with enough space left to coil a garden hose.
    — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Sula’s head rested on her arm, an undone braid coiled around her wrist.
    — Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
  • There’s also a wrap that keeps the hose neatly coiled and tucked away for storage.
    — Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2023
  • My hair texture is 3C, so my curls tend to be curly yet not as tight or coiled.
    — Jacorey Moon, Men's Health, 2 May 2023
  • The snakes were coiled up in a crevice near the door to the garage and were unusually large.
    — Claire Barber, Field & Stream, 10 May 2023
  • Dry all surfaces completely and replace knobs, drip pans, and coils back on the stove.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Dry all surfaces completely and replace knobs, drip pans, and coils back on the stove.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2025
  • This is a stock that has done its consolidating and may be coiling for the next move.
    — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 8 June 2026
  • Enormous ventilation pipes were coiled like snakes on the roof of the building.
    — Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Her short orange curls, which have become a defining part of her look, were coiled into little ringlets.
    — Gabi Thorne, Allure, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Belt boxes allow the belts to be coiled up and stored when not in use, and also aid quick reloading of machine guns.
    — Matthew Moss, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2023
  • The snake can be seen coiled up in the back corner of the drawer on top of some colorful underwear.
    — Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Melanj Hair's clip-in and weft hair extensions range from tightly coiled to silk-press straightened.
    — Sierra Leone Starks, Allure, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Golfers coil their bodies during the backswing to follow through after the point of impact.
    — Jen Murphy, WSJ, 27 Mar. 2021
  • Conductive yarn is coiled around the outside of the barrel, and covered with a soft polymer grip.
    — New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
  • In half the buckets, lengths of copper and steel wire are coiled into spirals and nestled alongside the plants.
    — Kate Morgan, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023
  • With every step, my body coiled in anticipation of the surging pain.
    — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2025
  • By now, the mind-altering powers coiled in these devices are evident.
    — Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
  • The stalk can coil up to rapidly reel in the bell, which otherwise sits in the open sifting particles from water.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2012
  • The snake usually provides warning signs such as coiling up, rattling their tails and hissing.
    — The Arizona Republic, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Scapes grow out of the top of each garlic bulb, then coil into long, skinny, green stems that look somewhat like tender, twirly green beans or green onions.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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