3 uses
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Definition
to move backward suddenly (sometimes figuratively)
especially:
- the backward jerk of a gun or cannon when it is fired
- when a person flinches (suddenly draws back) from someone or something, as with fear, disgust, or pain
- when a person is emotionally repulsed, as by disgust
- when something intended to go in one direction figuratively falls back in the opposite direction; for example, a story told to hurt someone that comes back to hurt the teller
- Bourne chose a heavy-set man near the guard; he rushed forward shoving the unsuspecting onlooker into the guard and sidestepped as the taipan's man recoiled.Chapter 10 (89% in)
- Another group of marines, these obviously led by an experienced officer, took up equidistant positions in front of the great house, circling it, legs bent, feet dug in for recoils, weapons angled forward.Chapter 32 (21% in)
- He fired as McAllister instinctively recoiled in terror, grabbing his shoulder.Chapter 37 (69% in)
There are no more uses of "recoil" in The Bourne Supremacy.
Typical Usage
(best examples)