To save this word, you'll need to log in.
\ ˈkōst 
\
\Definition of coast
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : the land near a shore : seashore
3a : 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
from coast to coast
: across an entire nation or continent
coast
verbcoasted; coasting; coasts
Definition of coast (Entry 2 of 2)
2 : to sail along the shore of
1a archaic : to travel on land along a coast or along or past the side of something
b : to sail along the shore
2a : 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 ona company coasting on its good reputation
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from coast
Noun
coastal \ ˈkō-stᵊl \ adjective
\ adjectivecoastwise \ ˈkōst-ˌwīz \ adverb or adjective
\ adverb or adjectiveSynonyms & Antonyms for coast
Synonyms: Verb
- bowl,
- breeze,
- brush,
- cruise,
- drift,
- flow,
- glide,
- roll,
- sail,
- skim,
- slide,
- slip,
- stream,
- sweep,
- whisk
Antonyms: Verb
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of coast in a Sentence
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 New Orleans and surrounding areas, along with a stretch of the coast from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Florida line, were placed under a hurricane watch.
—
Tamara Lush, Star Tribune, "New Orleans under hurricane watch from Tropical Storm Sally," 14 Sep. 2020 It was expected to become a hurricane by late Monday that could threaten a wide swath of the northern Gulf coast early in the week.
—
Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, "Weather Channel live stream: How to watch hurricane and tropical storm tracking online," 12 Sep. 2020 The Steller’s sea eagle is a Russian bird common on the Kamchatka Pennisula and along parts of the Russia coast.
—
John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "In a far from normal autumn on the Denali Highway, a Steller’s sea eagle makes a rare appearance," 5 Sep. 2020 Nana also will move near but north of Honduras' coast.
—
Judson Jones, CNN, "Nana is likely to become a hurricane by Wednesday night as the record-breaking season continues," 2 Sep. 2020 Nana is forecast to move north of the coast of Honduras on Wednesday and likely approach the Belize coast Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
—
Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane Center monitoring 2 tropical storms, 2 other systems in Atlantic," 2 Sep. 2020 The forecast track projects that Nana will pass north of the coast of Honduras on Wednesday.
—
Brooke Baitinger, sun-sentinel.com, "Tropical Storm Nana likely to become season’s fifth hurricane, NHC says," 2 Sep. 2020 Encinitas will initially get 340,000 cubic yards of sand to add 50 feet of beach along a 7,800-foot stretch of the coast between Beacons Beach to Boneyards.
—
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, "New phase begins for 50-year sand replenishment project in North County," 30 Aug. 2020 Voluntary evacuation orders were in places for other areas of the Texas coast.
—
Danielle Wallace, Fox News, "Texas coast braces for thousands of power outages, storm surges as Hurricane Laura barrels through Louisiana," 27 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb None of it mattered in the end as Sato was able to coast around the speedway then ride the lift new track owner Roger Penske installed to take the winner to an elevated victory circle.
—
Star Tribune, "Takuma Sato wins his second Indianapolis 500 at empty track," 24 Aug. 2020 None of it mattered in the end as Sato was able to coast around the speedway and then ride the lift new track owner Roger Penske installed to take the winner to an elevated victory circle.
—
Jenna Fryer, orlandosentinel.com, "Japan’s Takuma Sato wins his second Indianapolis 500 at empty track," 24 Aug. 2020 If Biden is allowed to coast through the fall with his current image not being seriously contested, well then, campaign malpractice will have to be added to the long litany of charges against Donald Trump.
—
Rich Lowry, National Review, "Democrats Strain to Depict Biden as a Moderate," 21 Aug. 2020 But caretaker prime ministers usually lack the political backing to pursue significant initiatives, meaning that the Lebanese government could coast, or become even less responsive, until a new cabinet is in place.
—
Ben Hubbard, New York Times, "Lebanon’s Prime Minister Resigns Amid Anger Over Explosion," 10 Aug. 2020 An average of 82 marine mammals — mostly bottlenose dolphins — become stranded along the Louisiana coast each year, with only 5 percent found alive, the TIG wrote in approving the funding.
—
Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com, "Oyster bed restoration, marine mammal stranding response gets $28.7 million in BP spill money," 9 Aug. 2020 The number would be very high for a whale, for instance, which is able to coast a good distance with a single flap of its tail.
—
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Human sperm swim more like otters than eels, study finds," 31 July 2020 Woodward focused on engineering excellence, and by the late 20th century its products were so good that, like many companies, the company began to coast on its reputation.
—
Adam Seessel, Fortune, "Valuation: How a 1990s crisis poised this aerospace stock for a great run in the 2020s," 25 June 2020 The Cowboys recorded a perfect regular season and started 24-0 after coasting through a trio of postseason games.
—
Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati.com, "Offers pour in for Wyoming 2021 guard Isaiah Walker: 'This is what I dreamed of'," 19 May 2020
See MoreThese 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for coast
coast
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of coast
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the land along or near a sea or ocean
US, informal : the area along or near the Pacific Ocean
coast
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of coast (Entry 2 of 2)
: 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
See the full definition for coast in the English Language Learners Dictionary
coast
noun\ ˈkōst \
\Kids Definition of coast
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the land near a shore
coast
verbcoasted; coasting
Kids Definition of coast (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to move downhill by the force of gravity
2 : to sail close to shore along a coast
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on coast
What made you want to look up coast? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Homophone Quiz
- In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a
______.
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share coast
Time Traveler for coast
The first known use of coast was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century