coach

American  

[kohch] / koʊtʃ /

noun

1. a large, horse-drawn, four-wheeled carriage, usually enclosed.

2. a public motorbus.

3. Railroads. day coach.

4. Also called air coach.  a class of airline travel providing less luxurious accommodations than first class at a lower fare.

5. a person who trains an athlete or a team of athletes.

   a football coach.

6. a private tutor who prepares a student for an examination.

   Synonyms:

   preceptor, mentor

7. a person who instructs an actor or singer.

8. Baseball. a playing or nonplaying member of the team at bat who is stationed in the box outside first or third base to signal instructions to and advise base runners and batters.

9. Nautical. an after cabin in a sailing ship, located beneath the poop deck, for use especially by the commander of the ship.

10. a type of inexpensive automobile with a boxlike, usually two-door, body manufactured in the 1920s.

11. mobile home.

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verb (used with object)

coaches, present (3rd person singular) coached, past participle, past coaching present participle

1. to give instruction or advice to in the capacity of a coach; instruct.

   She has coached the present tennis champion.

verb (used without object)

coaches, present (3rd person singular) coached, past participle, past coaching present participle

1. to act as a coach.

2. to go by or in a coach.

adverb

1. by coach or in coach-class accommodations.

   We flew coach from Denver to New York.

coach British  

/ kəʊtʃ /

noun

1. a vehicle for several passengers, used for transport over long distances, sightseeing, etc

2. a large four-wheeled enclosed carriage, usually horse-drawn

3. a railway carriage carrying passengers

4. a trainer or instructor

   a drama coach

5. a tutor who prepares students for examinations

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verb

1. to give tuition or instruction to (a pupil)

2. (tr) to transport in a bus or coach

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uncoached
  adjective
• coacher
  noun
• coachable
  adjective
• well-coached
  adjective
• overcoach
  verb
• uncoachable
  adjective
• coachability
  noun
• outcoach
  verb (used with object)

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has coached
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have coached
  perfect
• are coaching
  progressive
• is coaching
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am coaching
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been coaching
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• coaching
  participle
• have been coaching
  perfect progressive
• coaches
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had coached
  perfect
• was coaching
  progressive singular
• were coaching
  progressive plural
• had been coaching
  perfect progressive
• coached
  simple
• coached
  participle

Future

• will coach
  simple
• will have coached
  perfect
• will be coaching
  progressive
• will have been coaching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of coach

First recorded in 1550–60; 1840–50 for sense “tutor”; earlier coche(e), from Middle French coche, from German Kotsche, Kutsche, from Hungarian kocsi, short for kocsi szekér “cart of Kocs,” town on the main road between Vienna and Budapest; senses referring to tutoring from the conception of the tutor as one who carries the student through examinations

Explanation

Nowadays, we mostly think of a coach as someone who trains a team, but it can also refer to a vehicle, such as a horse-drawn coach or coach bus (the kind with a bathroom in the back). The first meaning of coach was in the mid-16th Century for a carriage, probably named for Kocs, the Hungarian village where they were first made and called kocsi. In the mid-19th Century, the name was given to railway cars, and nowadays the least expensive travel class is described as "coach." It's thought that the idea of a coach as a teacher came about because of the idea that a coach "carries" a student to success through his or her teaching.

Example Sentences

June 9: “LEADER, MENTOR, COACH, FRIEND, LEGEND. Congratulations to the one & only @EricWynalda! Happy birthday Coach!”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 19, 2020

I’m going to have to side with the Coalition of Obsessed and Antsy Cats for the Holidays, or COACH, on this one.

From Slate • Dec. 7, 2019

NEW COACH: Colorado assistant coach Kim English is only a few years removed from his playing days.

From Washington Times • Oct. 30, 2017

AS A COACH, I can't look at Adam Scott and not see sort of a puzzle.

From Golf Digest • Jan. 27, 2017

I unzipped my backpack and dug around for the card that said THE DEFENDERS, COACH, in black block letters.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• mentor
• teacher
• trainer