coastal
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coastal
Explanation
Coastal things are near the ocean. If you like spending time at the beach, you might take a trip to a sunny, coastal vacation spot. Be sure to pack your swimsuit! You might read phrases like "coastal waters" or "coastal erosion" in an environmental science textbook. The coast is the land that borders an ocean or sea, and the adjective coastal describes things that affect the coast or are located there. Before it meant "edge of the land," coast referred to a body part—specifically, the rib or "flank."
Vocabulary lists containing coastal
The United States
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South America - Middle School
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Canada - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A £975,000 project to restore grasslands and a "rare" coastal habitat has been successfully completed.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
At the coastal town of Elsinore, the kingdom forced ships to stop under the watchful eye of cannons and pay a tax based on cargo value.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
In June 2022, UNESCO, which is committed to increasing global tsunami risk awareness among coastal communities, declared:
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
Where to Stay: In southern Maine, stay in Kennebunkport or Portland to turn your visit into a proper coastal Maine weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
He’d been in East Anglia with contractors seconded to the army, building coastal defenses, which was why he was so late coming to the hospital.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
