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Synonyms

coastline

American  
[kohst-lahyn] / ˈkoʊstˌlaɪn /

noun

  1. the outline or contour of a coast; shoreline.

  2. the land and water lying adjacent to a shoreline.

coastline British  
/ ˈkəʊstˌlaɪn /

noun

  1. the outline of a coast, esp when seen from the sea, or the land adjacent to it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of coastline

First recorded in 1855–60; coast + line 1

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.

The U.S. didn’t plan to police thousands of miles of coastline and hinterland.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

It includes a collection of 24 luxury waterfront townhomes set along a largely untouched coastline.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The boat was eventually stopped 53 nautical miles from Ierapetra, a city on Crete's southern coastline.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Australia's vast coastline and small population have spurred its focus on developing robot submarines and fighter jets, with a wary eye on China's naval build-up in the Indo-Pacific.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Tired and hungry, Wild devoured a seal steak as he described their nine hours of searching the coastline.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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.