coast

1 of 2

noun

ˈkōst

Synonyms of coast next

: the land near a shore : seashore

obsolete : border, frontier

: a hill or slope suited to coasting

: a slide down a slope (as on a sled)

often capitalized : the Pacific coast of the U.S.

: the immediate area of view

—used in the phrase the coast is clear

coastal

ˈkō-stᵊl

adjective

coastwise

ˈkōst-ˌwīz

adverb or adjective

coast

2 of 2

verb

coasted; coasting; coasts

transitive verb

obsolete : to move along or past the side of : skirt

: to sail along the shore of

intransitive verb

archaic : to travel on land along a coast or along or past the side of something

: to sail along the shore

: to slide, run, or glide downhill by the force of gravity

: to move along without or as if without further application of propulsive power (as by momentum or gravity)

: 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

Example Sentences

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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The cold weather will prevent daytime high temperatures from rising above the mid-50s along the coast on Sunday and the low 50s on Monday and Tuesday. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Jan. 2023 The warm air out ahead of the winds will raise daytime temperatures to the lower 60s along the coast and mid-60s in the rest of the Peninsula this afternoon. —

Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Jan. 2023 Set in the middle of Thy National Park along the coast of the North Sea, the Sea Pool stretches out from Vorupør Beach, which is usually dotted with fishing boats and, in summer months, sunbathers. —

Regan Stephens, Vogue, 23 Jan. 2023 South Floridians in inland parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties can expect to wake up to temperatures in the low and mid 30s in inland areas and the high 30s and low 40s along the coast, colder than predicted earlier in the week. —

Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2023 Adélie penguins live all along the coast of Antarctica, but the peninsula also supports species the harsh mainland can’t: fur seals, elephant seals, gentoo and chinstrap penguins. —

Craig Welch, National Geographic, 13 Jan. 2023 The mountains that stretch east-west along the coast in this part of the state have received some of the highest rainfall totals. —

Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2023 El Niño and La Niña can tip the scales toward wet or dry, depending on what else is going on along the coast. —

Robin Meadows, Scientific American, 11 Jan. 2023 Successive storms have wreaked havoc across the state with water from rising rivers and creeks inundating neighborhoods and businesses and homes along the coast being battered by swells. —

Anchorage Daily News, 10 Jan. 2023

Verb

Many of the best teams are very clear about their intentions to coast through the regular season in order to be in the best playoff health situation, to various outcomes. —

The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Dec. 2022 Walker, who used his athletics fame to coast to the GOP nomination, has sought to portray Warnock as a yes-man for President Joe Biden. —

Dallas News, 6 Dec. 2022 Walker, who used his athletics fame to coast to the GOP nomination, has sought to portray Warnock as a yes-man for President Joe Biden. —

Jeff Amy, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Dec. 2022 Tears for Fears could coast for the rest of their lives, licensing out their hits to TV shows, movies, and commercials, and then trotting them out for a lucrative nostalgia tour every few years. —

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Dec. 2022 Polis was also able to easily coast to reelection, winning by a margin of 18.1%. —

Michael Lee, Fox News, 13 Nov. 2022 The Mets could be one bad series away from a tie for first place, while the Dodgers, who lead the San Diego Padres by 19.5 games in the N.L. West, could coast for the remainder of the season and still easily win their division. —

Gary Phillips, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2022 Jalen Hood-Schifino, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp each scored at least 13 points – to coast for much of the second half. —

Wilson Moore, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Dec. 2022 Many Kenyans, including members of the political elite, had supposed that Mr. Odinga would coast to victory thanks to his political alliance with Mr. Kenyatta, who had reached his two-term limit. —

Declan Walsh, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coast.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.