coca

noun

co·ca | \ ˈkō-kə

How to pronounce coca (audio)

\

Definition of coca

1 : any of several South American shrubs (genus Erythroxylon, family Erythroxylaceae) especially : one (E. coca) that is the primary source of cocaine

2 : dried leaves of a coca (especially Erythroxylon coca) containing alkaloids including cocaine

Examples of coca in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Satellite imagery shows that new coca farms established by migrant farmers from Peru’s central jungle region, and clandestine airstrips, are emerging practically overnight throughout the region. — Charlie Hamilton James, History & Culture, "Who killed this Indigenous family in the Peruvian Amazon? And why?," 20 Nov. 2020 Morales also remains the leader of Bolivia's powerful coca-growing labor unions, an intensely loyal and well-organized social movement. — Star Tribune, "Ex-President Evo Morales returns to Bolivia to cheering supporters," 9 Nov. 2020 Sentry airborne warning and control systems, or AWACS, and Navy P-3 Orion counter-narcotics flights over a region of heavy coca production. — Abraham Mahshie, Washington Examiner, "US Southern Command naval exercise strengthens formerly strained relationships," 5 Nov. 2020 About a decade ago, some of the garimpeiros started working closely with the drug trafficking groups moving cocaine and coca leaves across the region, since gold is an effective way to launder money. — Popular Science, "A pandemic-created ‘gold rush’ in the Amazon is destroying Indigenous lands," 12 Oct. 2020 Jose David Hernandez, a farmer in rural Antioquia, who grew coca until 2018, remembers the aerial fumigations in 2003 and 2004. — Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, "Colombia wants to resume spraying a toxic chemical to fight cocaine. Critics say it's too risky," 28 Aug. 2020 Bolivia is the world's third largest coca producer after Colombia and Peru. — Carlos Valdez, Star Tribune, "Bolivian coca cultivation jumped by 10% in 2019, UN says," 29 July 2020 On Thursday, thousands of Cochabamba’s mainly Quechua coca leaf farmers descended on the outskirts of the regional capital waving the country’s two flags to demand Mr. Morales’s return. — Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, "Ethnic Rifts in Bolivia Burst Into View With Fall of Evo Morales," 15 Nov. 2019 My sin is being indigenous, a union leader and a coca farmer. — The Economist, "Rainbow resignation Evo Morales leaves Bolivia dangerously divided," 14 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coca.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Coca.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coca. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.

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More Definitions for coca

coca

noun

co·ca | \ ˈkō-kə

\

Medical Definition of coca

1 : any of several South American shrubs (genus Erythroxylon of the family Erythroxylaceae) especially : one (E. coca) that is the primary source of cocaine

2 : dried leaves of a coca (as Erythroxylon coca) containing alkaloids including cocaine

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