coast

noun \ ˈkōst \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

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

play \ˈkōs-tᵊl\ adjective

—

coastwise

play \ˈkōst-ˌwīz\ adverb or adjective

— from coast to coast

: across an entire nation or continent

See coast defined for English-language learners

See coast defined for kids

Examples of coast in a Sentence

He lives on the coast.
He's flying out to the Coast tomorrow.

Recent Examples of coast from the Web

Wedged along the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Diego, Orange County is home to more than three million people, living in a maze of communities ranging from surfer towns to exurbs.

— vauhini vara, The New Republic, "Essential reporting, interpretation, and opinion on politics and culture. Don't miss our latest.," 9 May 2018
That’s an east coast joke really, in a lot of ways.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Writer and comedian Nell Scovell on Recode Decode," 9 May 2018
The risks to coastal areas in the state are exacerbated by the continuing erosion of the seafloor off Florida’s coasts.

— NBC News, "Here's how rising seas could swallow up these coastal cities," 9 May 2018
Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar: Today, teachers are being treated to free shakes at Zinburger's east coast locations.

— olivia harrison, refinery29.com, "All The Places Teachers Can Eat For Free This Week," 8 May 2018
The coast will begin to see rain early this afternoon.

— rosemarie stein | the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Portland metro Tuesday weather: Don't let the sunny start fool you, showers return late today," 8 May 2018
Uruguay's coast proves to be just as charming as Montevideo—fishermen kayak out to get their daily catch, people cook out on the beach.

— bridget hallinan, Condé Nast Traveler, "Recap: Anthony Bourdain Eats All the Meat in Uruguay in 'Parts Unknown'," 7 May 2018
But so far this year, at least three flukeless gray whales have been spotted migrating northward along California's coast—a spike that has Schulman-Janiger concerned for their well-being.

— katarina zimmer, National Geographic, "Rise in Tailless Whale Sightings Has Scientists Concerned," 7 May 2018
However, the world quickly learned that Prince William and Kate chose the Seychelles — an archipelago of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa — as their romantic honeymoon destination.

— stacey leasca, Glamour, "Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Postponed Their Honeymoon Plans," 5 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of coast

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

coast

verb

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

See coast defined for English-language learners

Examples of coast in a Sentence

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 of coast from the Web

In another era, perhaps Republicans would have been able to coast on tax cuts alone.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Republicans Beginning to Regret Having No Agenda," 30 Apr. 2018
The second stage will then coast through space with TESS for more than half an hour.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX Launch of NASA's TESS Space Telescope Scrubbed Until Wednesday (Updated)," 16 Apr. 2018
That is a slimmer margin than in the Pennsylvania district that Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb won last month, where Mr. Trump had coasted by 20 points in 2016.

— kristina peterson, WSJ, "Top Republican Woman in Congress in Tough Midterm Fight," 15 Apr. 2018
Tied at 46 at the half, Philadelphia outscored Miami 34-20 in the third period and coasted to the series clinching victory despite shooting 42 percent from the field and making only 7 of 28 from three-point range.

— manny navarro, miamiherald, "Offseason full of questions await Heat after Sixers wrap up first round series in 5 | Miami Herald," 24 Apr. 2018
The road there passes over verdant mountains before coasting through tropical flatlands, contested territory during the civil war that ended in 2009, now distinguished mostly by quiet teahouses.

— amanda taub and max fisher, New York Times, "Where Countries Are Tinderboxes and Facebook Is a Match," 21 Apr. 2018
Coaches were upset how ASU kind of coasted through the final few practices.

— doug haller, azcentral, "Five things we learned from Arizona State spring football," 13 Apr. 2018
Between ratcheting up his pitch count to 37 in the first and coasting through the fifth inning, Duffy had settled and thrown 49 pitches.

— maria torres, kansascity, "Duffy’s adjustments not enough as Royals offense falters in loss to Indians | The Kansas City Star," 6 Apr. 2018
Before coasting, the Eastern Conference’s fourth-place Sixers had a commanding 28-point fourth-quarter lead.

— keith pompey, Philly.com, "If Joel Embiid can't return for the playoffs, Sixers could have trouble advancing," 31 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of coast

14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

coast Synonyms

COAST Defined for English Language Learners

coast

noun

: the land along or near a sea or ocean
the Coast : the area along or near the Pacific Ocean

coast

verb

: to move forward using no power or very little power
: to move downhill by the force of gravity
: to progress or have success without special effort

COAST Defined for Kids

coast

noun \ ˈkōst \

: the land near a shore

coast

verb

coasted; coasting

1 : to move downhill by the force of gravity

2 : to sail close to shore along a coast

Learn More about coast

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for coast Spanish Central: Translation of coast Nglish: Translation of coast for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of coast for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about coast

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up coast? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

coast

coastal

coastwise

Examples of coast in a Sentence

Recent Examples of coast from the Web

Origin and Etymology of coast

coast

Examples of coast in a Sentence

Recent Examples of coast from the Web

First Known Use of coast

coast Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases Related to COAST

Related Phrases

COAST Defined for English Language Learners

coast

coast

COAST Defined for Kids

coast

coast

Learn More about coast

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'Deprived' vs. 'Depraved'

May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz

12 Words from All Over the Map

Trending: Melania Trump Undergoes 'Embolization'

Ghost Word