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

After performing admirably, in 2014 Montalvo was invited to join Squadron, a one-of-a-kind bicoastal crew founded by Schreibman and Alvarado. —Brandon Sneed, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2024

In 2021, after years of maintaining a bicoastal relationship, Abasolo relocated from Miami (where his practice was based) to live with Lindsay in Los Angeles. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2024

Meet Our Experts Joanna Vargas is a celebrity esthetician, bicoastal spa owner and the founder of her eponymous, award-winning skincare line. —Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024

This year's Disney Service Celebration, a bicoastal event, took place at Walt Disney World on Monday night, with another scheduled later this year at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. —Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024

Look for a special menu of six pisco sours, including bicoastal versions created by Natasha Bermudez of New York’s Llama Inn and Kevin Diedrich of San Francisco’s Pacific Cocktail Haven just for this event, and one with blood orange and cinnamon. —Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024

And thus began a bicoastal courtship, with Hines based in L.A. and Kennedy in New York, the two linking up every few months on a ski slope or a tropical island. —Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2024

The bicoastal holiday celebrations are held annually to celebrate members’ achievements and honor outstanding composers and songwriters. —Paul Grein, Billboard, 23 Nov. 2022

The boutique firm is bicoastal, but its clients are global stars and hitmakers: from Barbie writer-director Greta Gerwig and partner and co-writer Noah Baumbach to the likes of Donald Glover, Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve Martin and Anne Hathaway. —Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!