coast

1 of 2

noun

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 adjective
coastwise adverb or adjective

coast

2 of 2

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
Phrases
from coast to coast
: across an entire nation or continent

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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Vannes is along the western coast of France and about 300 miles southwest of Paris. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024 Mexico's Pacific coast will be the first location in continental North America to experience totality, which will occur at about 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024 The itinerary took us from Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, to a dozen destinations across the Seychelles. David Swanson, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2024 Another challenge is bad weather along the east coast. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Mar. 2024 The incident occurred in Florida's Brevard County, east of Orlando along the Atlantic coast. Li Cohen, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2024 Ukrainian officials said at least 10 of the country’s regions were struck in an attack targeting power supplies in multiple towns and cities, including Kharkiv in the east, Odesa on the coast and Kryvyi Rih in the center. Andrew Carey, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024 The United States has also announced that a floating pier will be built off Gaza’s coast, allowing food to be brought in by ship from Cyprus, although the pier is not expected to be operational for several months. Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 The Lake Michigan sanctuary off Wisconsin's coast is home to dozens of shipwrecks that represent and preserve both a moment frozen in time and a window into the past, said Russ Green, superintendent of Wisconsin’s national marine sanctuary. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2024
Verb
The film coasts along on the strength of many snippets of music and anecdotes from a parade of singers and producers. Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024 Baltimore too often struggles to put teams away, notorious for coasting and coughing up fourth-quarter leads. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 But against the Wizards, the team with the worst record in the NBA and playing on the second of back-to-back nights, the Clippers coasted to victory after pulling away in the third quarter. Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2024 Something caught the eye of a driver coasting down a Utah highway. Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024 For Man United fans, Pogba was a ludicrously talented player who didn’t try hard enough or coasted too much during games. Emmet Gates, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 In 2020, Biden coasted into office by beating Trump 306-232 in the electoral college. Thomas Knapp, Orange County Register, 22 Feb. 2024 Best Supporting Actress — Julianne Moore (May December) Similar to how her costar, Charles Melton, coasted through the early season with strong critical support on his side, Julianne Moore’s turn in May December felt like a lock from the moment the film premiered at Cannes. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2024 Elsewhere, coach Patrick Vieira's Strasbourg coasted to a 3-1 win at Clermont. OTHER MATCHES Lille, which is fifth in Ligue 1, scraped a 1-0 win at fourth-tier Racing Club on the outskirts of Paris thanks to a goal from Iceland midfielder Hakon Haraldsson. Jerome Pugmire, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cost, from Anglo-French coste, from Latin costa rib, side; akin to Old Church Slavonic kostĭ bone

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of coast was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near coast

Cite this Entry

“Coast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coast. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coast

1 of 2 noun
1
: the land near a shore : seashore
2
: a slide down a slope (as on a sled)
3
: the present area in view
the coast is clear
coastal adjective

coast

2 of 2 verb
1
: to sail along the shore of
2
a
: to slide downhill by the force of gravity
b
: to move along (as on a bicycle when not pedaling) without applying power
3
: to succeed without special effort
coasted through school

More from Merriam-Webster on coast

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