coat

American  

[koht] / koʊt /

noun

1. an outer garment with sleeves, covering at least the upper part of the body.

   a new fur coat; a coat for formal wear.

2. a natural integument or covering, as the hair, fur, or wool of an animal, the bark of a tree, or the skin of a fruit.

3. a layer of anything that covers a surface.

   That wall needs another coat of paint.

4. a mucous layer covering or lining an organ or connected parts, as on the tongue.

5. coat of arms.

6. Archaic. a petticoat or skirt.

7. Obsolete.

   1. a garment indicating profession, class, etc.

   2. the profession, class, etc., so indicated.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover with a layer or coating: The furniture was coated with dust.

   He coated the wall with paint.

   The furniture was coated with dust.

   Synonyms:

   encrust, smear, lay

2. to cover thickly, especially with a viscous fluid or substance.

   Heat the mixture until it coats a spoon. The boy was coated with mud from head to foot.

3. to cover or provide with a coat.

coat British  

/ kəʊt /

noun

1. an outdoor garment with sleeves, covering the body from the shoulder to waist, knee, or foot

2. any similar garment, esp one forming the top to a suit

3. a layer that covers or conceals a surface

   a coat of dust

4. the hair, wool, or fur of an animal

5. short for coat of arms

6. in disfavour

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verb

1. to cover (with) a layer or covering

2. (tr) to provide with a coat

Other Word Forms

• coater noun
• coatless adjective
• recoat verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of coat

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cote, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Germanic; compare German Kotze, Old Saxon cott “woolen coat”

Example Sentences

“She had difficulties already in her life, and there’s no sugar coating that. So we had to navigate this argument that what social-media addiction does is it preys upon the vulnerable more times than not.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Nail polish formulations were coated onto a silicone mat and the resistance of the dried films were measured; formulations with noninfinite resistance were tested on capacitive touchscreens.

From Science Daily

So we might start a morning feeling like winter, needing a thick coat.

From BBC

And then someone rode in with some answers — not a man in a white hat, like a movie hero, but a man in a white lab coat.

From Los Angeles Times

Sheets of copper and aluminum go through machines that coat electrode slurry.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cloak
• frock
• jacket
• overcoat
• raincoat
• suit
• tuxedo
• windbreaker
• wrap