coast

1 of 2

noun

1
: the land near a shore : seashore
2
obsolete : border, frontier
3
a
: a hill or slope suited to coasting
b
: a slide down a slope (as on a sled)
4
often capitalized : the Pacific coast of the U.S.
5
: the immediate area of view
used in the phrase the coast is clear
coastal adjective
coastwise adverb or adjective

coast

2 of 2

verb

coasted; coasting; coasts

transitive verb

1
obsolete : to move along or past the side of : skirt
2
: to sail along the shore of

intransitive verb

1
a
archaic : to travel on land along a coast or along or past the side of something
b
: to sail along the shore
2
a
: to slide, run, or glide downhill by the force of gravity
b
: to move along without or as if without further application of propulsive power (as by momentum or gravity)
c
: to proceed easily without special application of effort or concern
coasted through school
often used with on
a company coasting on its good reputation
Phrases
from coast to coast
: across an entire nation or continent

Examples of coast in a Sentence

Noun He lives on the coast. He's flying out to the Coast tomorrow. Verb The car coasted to a stop. The airplane coasted down the runway. The children coasted on sleds down the snowy hill. They came coasting down the hill on bicycles. After taking a big lead, the team coasted to victory. He was accused of trying to coast through school. She decided she could coast along without a job for the next few months. The company is coasting on its good reputation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
President Biden then announced the construction of a pier off the Gazan coast and the establishment of a maritime corridor for aid, which Israel would be responsible for securing. Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 Coral reefs protect the coast from storm waves and erosion, provide tourism and food opportunities for millions of people, and support at least 25 percent of all marine life. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 Mar. 2024 But on Thursday, winds will shift to the east while increasing in intensity, reaching 45 mph to 65 mph in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, across most of Los Angeles County’s mountains, into Malibu and along the Ventura County coast and valleys, Kittell said. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 As a result of the attacks, Russia has moved its fleet back from Ukraine’s coast and out of the western Black Sea. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 To help transport more aid into Gaza, Biden announced the U.S. military will launch an emergency mission to build a port on the Gaza coast along the Mediterranean Sea. Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 Number of Corners: 27 Located on the coast of the Red Sea, this fast and flowing street circuit, first used by Formula 1 in 2021, has banked corners, multiple chicanes, and facilitates high average speeds. Brad Spurgeon, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024 In previous years, viewership on the earlier coast has dropped off as the notoriously long ceremony, which regularly runs more than three hours, progressed. Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024 Croatia’s coast and inter-island byways (there are more than 1,200 islands) buzz with mega yachts, including Jeff Bezos’ 417-foot-long sailing yacht—the world’s largest—that cost the Amazon founder half a billion dollars. R. Daniel Foster, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024
Verb
The film coasts along on the strength of many snippets of music and anecdotes from a parade of singers and producers. Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 Baltimore too often struggles to put teams away, notorious for coasting and coughing up fourth-quarter leads. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 But against the Wizards, the team with the worst record in the NBA and playing on the second of back-to-back nights, the Clippers coasted to victory after pulling away in the third quarter. Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2024 Something caught the eye of a driver coasting down a Utah highway. Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024 For Man United fans, Pogba was a ludicrously talented player who didn’t try hard enough or coasted too much during games. Emmet Gates, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 In 2020, Biden coasted into office by beating Trump 306-232 in the electoral college. Thomas Knapp, Orange County Register, 22 Feb. 2024 Best Supporting Actress — Julianne Moore (May December) Similar to how her costar, Charles Melton, coasted through the early season with strong critical support on his side, Julianne Moore’s turn in May December felt like a lock from the moment the film premiered at Cannes. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2024 Elsewhere, coach Patrick Vieira's Strasbourg coasted to a 3-1 win at Clermont. OTHER MATCHES Lille, which is fifth in Ligue 1, scraped a 1-0 win at fourth-tier Racing Club on the outskirts of Paris thanks to a goal from Iceland midfielder Hakon Haraldsson. Jerome Pugmire, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cost, from Anglo-French coste, from Latin costa rib, side; akin to Old Church Slavonic kostĭ bone

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of coast was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near coast

Cite this Entry

“Coast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coast. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coast

1 of 2 noun
1
: the land near a shore : seashore
2
: a slide down a slope (as on a sled)
3
: the present area in view
the coast is clear
coastal adjective

coast

2 of 2 verb
1
: to sail along the shore of
2
a
: to slide downhill by the force of gravity
b
: to move along (as on a bicycle when not pedaling) without applying power
3
: to succeed without special effort
coasted through school

More from Merriam-Webster on coast

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