coax
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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coaxes,
present (3rd person singular)
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coaxed,
past participle, past
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coaxing
present participle
-
to influence or persuade to do something by gentle urging, smooth talk, flattery, etc..
He tried to coax her to sing, but she refused.
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to obtain by coaxing.
We coaxed the secret from him.
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to manipulate to a desired end by adroit handling or persistent effort.
He coaxed the large chair through the door.
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Obsolete.
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to fondle.
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to fool; deceive.
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verb (used without object)
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coaxes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
coaxed,
past participle, past
-
coaxing
present participle
noun
verb
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to seek to manipulate or persuade (someone) by tenderness, flattery, pleading, etc
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(tr) to obtain by persistent coaxing
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(tr) to work on or tend (something) carefully and patiently so as to make it function as one desires
he coaxed the engine into starting
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obsolete (tr) to caress
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obsolete (tr) to deceive
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coaxsimple
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coaxessimple
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have coaxedperfect
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has coaxedperfect
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am coaxingprogressive
-
are coaxingprogressive
-
is coaxingprogressive
-
have been coaxingperfect progressive
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has been coaxingperfect progressive
Past
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coaxedsimple
-
had coaxedperfect
-
was coaxingprogressive
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were coaxingprogressive
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had been coaxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coax1
First recorded in 1580–90; verb use of obsolete cokes “fool,” perhaps variant of coxcomb ( def. )
Origin of coax2
First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening
Explanation
When you coax someone, you try to convince him gently, with pleasant words and maybe a little flattery. You’ll have to be patient, as you can’t rush someone you’re trying to coax. When you coax, you have to be nice about it — you can’t threaten or force. You put on a little charm and gently urge, so that the person or thing is happy about being coaxed. You might coax the runaway elephant back into the zoo by patting her gently and talking into her ear. If you wake up with a terrible bedhead, you might coax your hair back into place with the help of a little hair gel and a comb.
Vocabulary lists containing coax
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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.
See Examples For:
From the first hint of cold winter mornings, supermarkets and pharmacies begin heavy marketing to coax us to stock up on vitamin C to get through the cold and flu season.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
The day was in the low 70s, and a breeze was coming through our kitchen window; I decided I would not mind standing at the stove long enough to coax the squash toward sweet collapse.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
It’s no secret that some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee favor interest-rate hikes to coax inflation back down.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 26, 2026
The couple said their neighbour had mental health issues and private ambulance staff had tried to "coax him out" of his home on Saturday.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
He relaxes a little, and I coax the memories from him like Pop used to with frightened patients.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Meal one: Something saucy, a little elegant Early in the week, I like to lean into moisture — something that coaxes the chicken back to life in a way that feels intentional, not remedial.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
Allegra Goodman’s family saga coaxes, in Sam Sacks’s words, “excellent, bone-dry humor” out of the skirmishes and long-running battles among members of a loving, fractious clan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
It’s not until Pointer coaxes her to take off her artificial leg, leaving her dependent on him, that her internal alarm bells start to go off.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2024
Genkuro coaxes out the sinister notes of the score in a deranged but good way.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
The memory actually coaxes a smile out of me.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
And the French pianist Michel Petrucciani, who, as a brilliant and precocious teenager in the 1980s, coaxed Mr. Lloyd out of a decade-long hiatus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
She is standing in front of The Barefoot Contessa with her dark hair coaxed into perky curls, wearing a matching aubergine button-down and skirt.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
As for the suggestion that Stokes' retirement could be temporary, that he could be coaxed back for a last crack at the Aussies next summer, he was having none of it.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
They coaxed, cajoled, begged and beseeched for support to bring the tournament to North America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
The magnetic screws refused to be coaxed back into their grooves without the proper tool, so Artemis was forced to glue them too.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
After some coaxing from family, Ramirez realized he was perfectly equipped to create mobile kitchens from scratch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
The woman crouches, coaxing the animal with sweet compliments and a stick of sugarcane she brought with her.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Entrepreneurs Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz later funded a private rescue, fitting the whale with a tracking device and coaxing it onto a water-filled transport ship called Fortuna B.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
It was not about coaxing the maximum possible pleasure out of a cut of meat.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
They paused while the chosen girl, after much coaxing, finally whispered a boy’s name.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
