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)

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)

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

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

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

Example Sentences

Adopted by the National Football League in 2003 to address the lack of people of color in top coaching positions, the Rooney Rule requires franchises to interview at least one minority candidate.

From Barron's

As much as Bellamy might have mellowed as a coach, his half-time tirade demonstrated that his fiery temper is still in there somewhere.

From BBC

In a strange and angry pocket of the Tartan Army, there is a section of Scotland supporters who have taken to booing the head coach and the team.

From BBC

Bulls coach Billy Donovan addressed the situation with reporters before his team’s game Monday in San Antonio.

From Los Angeles Times

Langin said the pitch had been buried for so long that “people just didn’t know how to coach it.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• mentor
• teacher
• trainer