coast

noun \ ˈkōst \

|Updated on: 6 Aug 2018

Examples: coast in a Sentence

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

Ten Years Taiwan kicks off on Lanyu, a small, windswept and underpopulated island off the eastern coast of Taiwan.

— clarence tsui, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Ten Years Taiwan': Film Review," 13 July 2018
Buy Photo A rescue team has saved a juvenile humpback whale that had been entangled in a line for months in an operation Wednesday off the New Jersey coast, the federal fisheries agency said Thursday.

— joseph a. gambardello, Philly.com, "Rescue team saves entangled humpback whale off New Jersey coast," 12 July 2018
Some in the crowd started taking video of the catch of the day on Surfside Beach, just southeast of Galveston Island along the Texas coast and about 60 miles south of Houston.

— matthew martinez, star-telegram, "Watch this woman battle a 6-foot shark on a Texas beach — and reel it in," 10 July 2018
The Coast Guard rescued an 80-year-old man off the coast of Rhode Island Monday after a journey from Cuttyhunk Island to New Bedford went awry, officials said.

— jackson cote, BostonGlobe.com, "80-year-old rescued by Coast Guard off coast of Rhode Island," 10 July 2018
The young Palestinian from Gaza was one of 60 migrants the crew of the Open Arms rescued Saturday from a rubber boat floating in waters off Libya’s coast, a scenario that’s been repeated over and over on the Mediterranean Sea in recent years.

— renata brito, The Seattle Times, "Migrants anxious to start anew in Europe after Libya ‘hell’," 3 July 2018
In this case, the octopus in question is Rabiot, a giant Pacific octopus caught off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan, who accurately predicted the results of all three of Japan's first games in the World Cup.

— luke darby, GQ, "Japan’s “Psychic” Octopus Was Butchered and Sold After Predicting Three World Cup Games," 3 July 2018
Since Tuesday, 5 to 10 inches of rain had fallen along the Texas coast from the border to about 125 miles south of Houston, with more than 15 inches in some areas, the National Weather Service said.

— arizona republic, azcentral, "News stories you may have missed during family separations uproar," 22 June 2018
Heavy rainfall along the Texas coast has led to severe flooding throughout the southeastern part of the state -- the worst flooding the state has seen since Hurricane Harvey.

— paulina dedaj, Fox News, "Texas sees worst flooding since Hurricane Harvey, days of torrential rain," 21 June 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

Definition of coast

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

Taylor coasted into second base and then was removed for a pinch runner — pitcher Ross Stripling.

— andy mccullough, latimes.com, "Dodgers hoping to avoid placing Chris Taylor on disabled list," 24 June 2018
Hypothetically, Pose could just coast on that little groundbreaking detail.

— refinery29.com, "What Makes Pose's Biggest Relationship Special Isn't What You Think," 11 June 2018
Bergsma drafted behind Manganello for most of the final, until Manganello had nothing left and coasted round the oval for the final lap, hands on her knees.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "U.S. speedskaters see positives in mass start showing, other top-10 finishes," 24 Feb. 2018
Harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the ocean will be reduced immediately, as state and federal water managers try to protect Florida’s coasts from another outbreak of toxic algae.

— david fleshler, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee to be reduced," 21 June 2018
MacGinty scooped the ball then tossed a pass to Austin Elite flanker Hanco Germishuy who coasted for an easy sliding try to take the 30-24 lead.

— glynn a. hill, Houston Chronicle, "USA hangs on to defeat Scotland in rugby thriller," 17 June 2018
The time between Universe and their last record, 2015’s American Nights, hasn’t been anywhere close to coasting for Higgenson though.

— bryan kress, Billboard, "Plain White T's Announce New Album 'Parallel Universe,' Debut Video for 'Your Body': Exclusive," 15 June 2018
With the average Israeli richer and safer than ever before, under normal circumstances Netanyahu would be coasting to reelection in 2019.

— matthew campbell, Bloomberg.com, "Benjamin Netanyahu Could Be Heading for a Fifth Term. Or to Court," 14 June 2018
And there's lots and lots of evidence the opposite -- that Trump will coast to his party's nomination in 2020 -- is, in fact, correct.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "It's very hard to see how Donald Trump isn't the Republican nominee in 2020," 13 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

Definition of coast for English Language Learners

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

coast

verb

Definition of coast for English Language Learners

: 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 \

Definition of coast for Students

: the land near a shore

coast

verb

Definition of coast for Students

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

Definition of coast

coastal

coastwise

Examples of coast in a Sentence

Recent Examples of coast from the Web

Origin and Etymology of coast

coast

Definition of 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

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COAST Defined for English Language Learners

coast

Definition of coast for English Language Learners

coast

Definition of coast for English Language Learners

COAST Defined for Kids

coast

Definition of coast for Students

coast

Definition of coast for Students

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