Skip to main content
coin slot

coin slot

1 2.2
A narrow opening in a machine where you put coins
  • noun
translation icon : ranura para monedas
  • Street in front of Lakeview Lunch Day... there is a close-up on a hand pulling back from the coin slot.

Examples

  • There are scratches all around the coin slot.

  • Nick turns back to the machine and pops the quarter into the coin slot.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Alex grabs a second quarter and shoves it in the coin slot.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He shoves one in ARCADE's coin slot and pulls on the CyberGloves.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Nick turns back to the machine and pops the quarter into the coin slot.

  • I balance my way back to the driver and drop them into the coin slot.

Synonyms

slot
vscoin slot
53 2.3

A narrow opening for putting things in, like cards or coins

is used specifically for inserting small metal money pieces into payment machines

Surface Forms

coin slot singular
coin slots plural

Morphology

coin + slot

The meaning is directly and literally composed from 'coin' (small metal money) + 'slot' (a narrow slit/opening); a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it as the opening where coins are inserted. This noun+noun compound is a transparent, cross-linguistically common composition and follows straightforward English compounding patterns.

Etymology

Coin slot comes from a simple picture: a small, narrow opening where you push a coin into a machine. Because coin names the money and slot names the thin gap, the phrase means 'the opening where you put coins'.