coast

noun \ ˈkōst \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Examples: coast in a Sentence

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

The ocean temperature just off the coast only varies 11 degrees between the coldest and warmest over the course of the year.

— paul cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "There's no such thing as 'average' Kentucky weather. And trees hate that," 13 July 2018
The creature, named Anne, traveled from off the western coast of Panama to near the Mariana Trench.

— tanya lewis, Scientific American, "In Case You Missed It," 13 July 2018
The museum is in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Grayton Beach State Park located in South Walton, Florida.

— kayla fitzgerald, sacbee, "Take a deep dive into this Underwater Art Museum that opened this summer," 13 July 2018
These waters did not disappoint, especially the two final dives off the coast of the Carolinas, where ROV encountered several unidentifiable creatures.

— kelli bender, ajc, "'Horror' lizardfish and weird unidentifiable creatures found chilling off Carolina coast," 13 July 2018
The novel opens with Biden staring at his computer, stewing over paparazzi images of Obama parasailing off the coast of Cape Town.

— alexandra alter, New York Times, "The Obama-Biden Bromance Continues. This Time in a Mystery Novel.," 12 July 2018
The urn with his ashes was disposed of off the coast of San Diego — a life trajectory dropped at the horizon.

— liz arnold, Longreads, "Making Peace with the Site of a Suicide," 11 July 2018
Through the first six months of 2018, there have been 25 shark bites around the world, only one of which was fatal (off the coast of Recife, Brazil, in early June).

— doyle rice, USA TODAY, "Sharks vs. humans: At 100 million deaths against 6 each year, it's not a fair fight," 11 July 2018
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, and was located about 345 miles off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

— hurricane chris, CBS News, "Hurricane Chris sending risky surf ashore as it swirls off East Coast," 11 July 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

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

coast

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

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

Meanwhile, Democratic hopes for chaos on the GOP side largely failed to materialize as incumbents coasted to easy wins — though at times wins with intriguing back-stories.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "3 winners and 2 losers from the primaries in South Carolina, New York, Utah, and Colorado," 27 June 2018
In fact, high-performance variants such as the 350-horsepower Focus RS might even see prices spike before coasting into oblivion.

— kyle stock, chicagotribune.com, "Zombie cars offer sweet deals for consumers, headaches for automakers," 25 June 2018
In fact, high-performance variants such as the 350-horsepower Focus RS might even see prices spike before coasting into oblivion.

— kyle stock, Bloomberg.com, "The Sedan is Dying, So It’s Time to Buy One," 25 June 2018
Camara retired the first nine Leicester batters, coasting through the top of the third inning on just nine pitches.

— dan shulman, BostonGlobe.com, "Freshman pitches Greater New Bedford to D2 softball crown," 23 June 2018
Gibson missed, Butler fell to the ground clutching his knee, and the Timberwolves lost as the Rockets coasted to their 11th of 17 straight victories.

— glynn a. hill, Houston Chronicle, "Jimmy Butler carries underdog Timberwolves into series against his hometown Rockets," 14 Apr. 2018
But now, coasting through an enchanted landscape, under overspreading branches draped with Spanish moss, their reverie turned otherworldly.

— jenna russell, BostonGlobe.com, "There is magic in those Jekyll Island oaks," 21 June 2018
As was widely expected, the office’s current occupant, Muriel E. Bowser, coasted to victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

— New York Times, "Washington’s Mayor Eyes a Second Term, With a New Supporter in Tow," 19 June 2018
In 2018, the 76-year-old says he is focused on coasting to a third term as Vermont’s junior senator.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Why Bernie Sanders won’t join the Democratic Party," 7 June 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

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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

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COAST Defined for English Language Learners

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coast

COAST Defined for Kids

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