<p><strong>Verb:</strong></p><ul><li>to draw back; start or shrink back, as in alarm, horror, or disgust.</li><li>to spring or fly back, as in consequence of force of impact or the force of the discharge, as a firearm.</li><li>to spring or come back; react (usually followed by on or upon): Plots frequently recoil upon the plotters.</li><li>(of an atom, a nucleus, or a particle) to undergo a change in momentum as a result either of a collision with an atom, a nucleus, or a particle or of the emission of a particle.</li></ul><p><strong>Noun:</strong></p><ul><li>an act of recoiling.</li><li>the distance through which a weapon moves backward after discharging.</li></ul>