coast

noun \ ˈkōst \

Definition of coast

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

Since the collapse of Moammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya, the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean has soared, as people have taken advantage of a vacuum of authority to set sail from the country's northern coast.

— kevin sieff, Washington Post, "Europe is trying to cut the flow of migrants from Africa. It won’t be easy.," 31 Aug. 2017
On September 8, 1900, a Category 4 hurricane slammed into the gulf coast of Texas.

— david grinspoon, The Atlantic, "Hurricane Harvey Lays Bare Our New Bargain With Nature," 30 Aug. 2017
Municipalities on the coast also sued BP privately and settled out of court, with a federal judge in New Orleans ordering BP to settle the accounts within 30 days.

— christopher harress, AL.com, "How was the Deepwater Horizon BP Settlement money spent?," 30 Aug. 2017
A third state, called simply California, would fold in Los Angeles and extend up the coast to Monterey.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "The Morning Line, 8/30," 30 Aug. 2017
Hurricane Harvey smashed into the Texas coast Friday as a Category 4 storm.

— jen kirby, Daily Intelligencer, "‘It Took Two Boat Rides’: Texans on Surviving the Storm," 30 Aug. 2017
The president will visit Corpus Christi on the Texas gulf coast on Tuesday, as Harvey regains strength and hurtles toward Louisiana.

— glenn thrush, New York Times, "Harvey Gives Trump a Chance to Reclaim Power to Unify," 29 Aug. 2017
But forecasters said the coast and mountains will remain under a heat advisory through Friday night, and the valleys and canyons will be under an extreme heat warning.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "For second straight day, temperatures soar above 100 in valleys, canyons," 29 Aug. 2017
Off the east coast, a tropical wave that drenched Florida last week, had starting moving away from North Carolina.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "Atlantic wave could be depression or tropical storm later this week," 29 Aug. 2017

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

See Words from the same year

coast

verb

Definition of coast

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

Your competition may just be coasting and doing the minimum necessary to keep their job.

— phil blair, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'You're fired, but I need you to stay'," 28 Aug. 2017
Now that the Diamondbacks have surrounded their franchise first baseman with a trustworthy team, Goldschmidt is coasting toward the first MVP award of his remarkable career.

— gabriel baumgaertner, SI.com, "Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Altuve are MVP Frontrunners as Awards Watch Returns," 9 Aug. 2017
Gillespie, widely expected to coast to victory in his three-way primary, spent relatively little but barely eked out a victory over Trump acolyte Corey Stewart, who focused his campaign on the preservation of Confederate monuments.

— laura vozzella, Washington Post, "National money pours into Virginia governor’s race," 25 July 2017
If LeBron James’ ability to lead his team to the NBA Finals is predicated on his coasting through (generally meaningless) regular season games, so be it.

— jon wertheim, SI.com, "Mailbag: The gap between Andy Murray's off-court class vs. on-court behavior," 21 June 2017
Trump barely won the district last year as Price coasted to a double-digit win.

— robert costa, Washington Post, "Democrats see high stakes in Georgia’s special election," 18 June 2017
On the Republican side, meanwhile, Ed Gillespie expected to coast to an easy victory over his main challenger, Corey Stewart, a Trump acolyte who highlighted his hard line on immigration and support for Confederate monuments.

— molly ball, The Atlantic, "Virginia's Wake-up Call to the GOP Establishment," 17 June 2017
Missile flight is divided into three phases: boost phase (launch), midcourse (coasting through space) and terminal (the minutes or seconds before impact).

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Military Will Try to Make a Missile-Destroying Laser Drone," 15 June 2017
Although Apple’s stock has risen dramatically under the guidance of C.E.O. Tim Cook, some critics suggest his company has coasted on the success of the iPhone and failed to deliver a new breakthrough product.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "America’s Most Valuable Company May Be in Danger," 8 June 2017