bicoastal

adjective

bi·​coast·​al (ˌ)bī-ˈkō-stəl 

: of, relating to, or occurring on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.

And everybody girded for a day of bicoastal press conferences in Washington, D.C., and Redmond, Wash., marked by a ritual exchange of tortured metaphors …

—Steven Levy

… an animal behaviorist with a bicoastal practice who hosts pet-advice radio shows in New York and Los Angeles.

—David Lida

After conducting a bicoastal relationship, Kevin and Linda married in 1989.

—Toby Kahn

also : living or working on both the east and west coasts of the U.S.

Similarly, one now sees frequent references to "bicoastal" people who go back and forth between New York and Los Angeles.

—Hans Fantel

The actor flies back and forth as often as his schedule will allow, but being bicoastal has more than its share of drawbacks.

—Mary Alice Kellogg

Did you know?

How Bicoastal Changed Its Meaning

Bicoastal is a word whose meaning shifted in the 1970s to reflect our mobile society. Prior to that, the term was occasionally used in general contexts involving both coasts (as in "a bicoastal naval defense"). These days bicoastal is almost always associated with people who make frequent trips between one coast and the other. An article with a Los Angeles dateline published in The New York Times in 1983 declared bicoastal to be "a popular term among an affluent, mobile set of Angelenos." But Angelenos weren't the only ones using the term-by that time, the word had already been appearing in national magazines.

Examples of bicoastal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Actum Former Tom Ford chief marketing officer Charlotte Blechman has joined the board of Actum, a bicoastal-and-beyond strategic firm, to build out a leg for a luxury, fashion and lifestyle consultancy. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 23 Jan. 2026

Gulutzan later said that Benn had a nose injury and would miss the start of the Stars’ six-game bicoastal road trip. —Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas Morning News, 12 Jan. 2026

Companies like Viridi Parente, a bicoastal battery energy storage system manufacturer that opened in Richmond this past summer, have also been welcomed with open arms. —Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 29 Dec. 2025

From terrestrial to satellite radio By the turn into the 21st century, Simon had broadened his credentials and become bicoastal from on-air stints in Los Angeles, program director jobs in Salt Lake City and work with RCA Records, Music Choice, Arista Records and for Mariah Carey’s record label. —Jeff Metcalfe, AZCentral.com, 8 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bicoastal

• coastal
• postal
• intercoastal
• intracoastal

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