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To retire; to recoil. [Obs.] Spenser.

To recoil. [Obs.] Spenser.

Recoil. [Obs.]

A reacting jolt or shock; a rebound or recoil. [R.] These inward rejolts and recoilings of the mind. South.

To start back; to recoil; to recede from a purpose. J. Ellis.

To strike with surprise, terror, horror, or disgust; to cause to recoil; as, his violence shocked his associates. Advise him not to shock a father's will. Dryden.

Causing to shake or tremble, as by a blow; especially, causing to recoil with horror or disgust; extremely offensive or disgusting. The grossest and most shocking villainies. Secker. -- Shock"ing*ly, adv. -- Shock"ing*ness, n.

To withdraw or retire, as from danger; to decline action from fear; to recoil, as in fear, horror, or distress. What happier natures shrink at with affright, The hard inhabitant contends is right. Pope. They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task. Jowett (Thucyd.)

To spring or recoil with violence. [Prov. Eng.]

An exclamation expressive of disgust, horror, or recoil. Its utterance is usually accompanied by a shudder.

An automatic machine gun in which the mechanism is worked by the recoil, assisted by the pressure of gases from the muzzle, which expand in a gas chamber against a disk attached to the end of the barrel, thus moving the latter to the rear with increased recoil, and against the front wall of the gas chamber, checking th…