coast

American  

[kohst] / koʊst /

noun

• coasts
  plural

1. the land next to the sea; seashore.

   the rocky coast of Maine.

   Synonyms:

   littoral, seaside, strand

2. the region adjoining it.

   They live on the coast, a few miles from the sea.

3. a hill or slope down which one may slide on a sled.

4. a slide or ride down a hill or slope, as on a sled.

5. Obsolete. the boundary or border of a country.

6. Informal. the Coast, (in the U.S. and Canada) the region bordering on the Pacific Ocean; the West Coast.

   I'm flying out to the Coast next week.

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verb (used without object)

• coasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coasted,
  past participle,  past
• coasting
  present participle

1. to slide on a sled down a snowy or icy hillside or incline.

2. to descend a hill or the like, as on a bicycle, without using pedals.

3. to continue to move or advance after effort has ceased; keep going on acquired momentum.

   We cut off the car engine and coasted for a while.

4. to advance or proceed with little or no effort, especially owing to one's actual or former assets, as wealth, position, or name, or those of another.

   The actor coasted to stardom on his father's name.

5. to sail along, or call at the various ports of, a coast.

6. Obsolete. to proceed in a roundabout way.

verb (used with object)

• coasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coasted,
  past participle,  past
• coasting
  present participle

1. to cause to move along under acquired momentum.

   to coast a rocket around the sun.

2. to proceed along or near the coast of.

3. Obsolete. to keep alongside of (a person moving).

4. Obsolete. to go by the side or border of.

idioms

1. the coast is clear, no danger or impediment exists; no persons are in the path or vicinity.

   The boys waited until the coast was clear before climbing over the wall.

coast British  

/ kəʊst /

noun

1. 1. the line or zone where the land meets the sea or some other large expanse of water

   2. ( in combination )

      coastland

2. the seaside

3. 1. a slope down which a sledge may slide

   2. the act or an instance of sliding down a slope

4. obsolete borderland or frontier

5. informal the obstacles or dangers are gone

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verb

1. to move or cause to move by momentum or force of gravity

2. (intr) to proceed without great effort

   to coast to victory

3. to sail along (a coast)

Usage

What does coast mean? As a noun, coast most commonly refers to the land next to the sea or ocean, or the region near it. As a verb, coast often means to move along smoothly or without much effort, but it is used differently in different contexts. Coast has many specific definitions, but they are all related to one of these two main meanings. Example: During our bike ride, we coasted down the mountain road, where you can see almost the entire coast of the island.

Synonym Usage

See shore ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coastal
  adjective
• coastally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• coasts
  plural

Participles

• coasting
  present
• coasted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• coast
  simple
• coasts
  simple
• have coasted
  perfect
• has coasted
  perfect
• am coasting
  progressive
• are coasting
  progressive
• is coasting
  progressive
• have been coasting
  perfect progressive
• has been coasting
  perfect progressive

Past

• coasted
  simple
• had coasted
  perfect
• was coasting
  progressive
• were coasting
  progressive
• had been coasting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will coast
  simple
• will have coasted
  perfect
• will be coasting
  progressive
• will have been coasting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of coast

First recorded in 1325–75; (noun) Middle English cost(e), < Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin costa “rib, side, wall”; (verb) Middle English cost(e)yen, costen, from Anglo-French costeier, Old French costoier, derivative of the noun

Explanation

The noun coast describes the area where the land meets the sea — the seashore. When your mom says, "We're going to the coast," pack your bathing suit, because you'll be near the ocean. Coast also has a verb form that describes an effortless movement, like when you're riding your bike down a hill and you don't have to pedal at all. It can also be used figuratively to describe something that's gained without much difficulty. You might coast to victory in the playoffs when your team wins 8-0 and is never threatened.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coast coasts coasted coasting

From coast to coast, the country’s richest programs are wrestling with a strange problem in college football’s NIL era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Protesters have gathered in a south coast town as more than 100 people believed to be migrants were brought ashore after crossing the Channel in a small boat.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The man, not yet identified, was fishing from his kayak about two miles off the coast near Paradise Cove, NBC Los Angeles reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The foes have traded strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

He was also interested in locating and charting ancient shipwrecks along the Turkish coast.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Still, tensions in the region remain elevated, with several vessels coming under attack around the coasts of Oman and Yemen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

While Austin is one of the more expensive cities in Texas, its cost of living is relatively moderate compared with pricier cities on the East and West coasts.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Many areas will stay fairly cloudy, with some rain around coasts and hills in the west.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Earthquakes can occur along active faults in the Ligurian Sea, near the French and Italian coasts.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Fishing villages might have appeared on the coasts of Indonesian islands as early as 45,000 years ago.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Sometimes this happens because the studios are trying to capitalize on a moment, like when “The Minecraft Movie” coasted in on the fumes of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

The vehicle had coasted through space but was not in exactly the correct orbit after one of its engines malfunctioned during an initial burn.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

“Expert review” coasted under the radar for months, until a few tech journalists caught its scent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

Zohran Mamdani coasted to victory in the New York City mayoral race with a platform focused on making the city more affordable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025

They looped around downtown and coasted past the library before Harriet veered into a narrow alley.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

The underwater vehicle was coasting about six feet above the ocean floor, two miles deep, when a pinkish, mysterious creature swam into its camera’s sights, drawing gasps in the research vessel floating at the surface.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

When the bike is rolling-idling and coasting, the deactivation cycling is noticeable; throttle tip-in seems just a bit flat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

It sounded like your previous cleaner was coasting, in addition to leaving sticky marks under your actual coaster.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

What is clear is that Infantino is no longer coasting towards a fourth term, if he clings on that long.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Five minutes later we were coasting up to a small dock on an island that was almost completely taken up by a large craggy mountain.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• bank
• beach
• coastline
• seaboard
• shore
• shoreline