coax

¹

[kohks]

verb (used with object)

1. to influence or persuade to do something by gentle urging, smooth talk, flattery, etc..

   He tried to coax her to sing, but she refused.

2. to obtain by coaxing.

   We coaxed the secret from him.

3. to manipulate to a desired end by adroit handling or persistent effort.

   He coaxed the large chair through the door.

4. Obsolete.

   1. to fondle.

   2. to fool; deceive.

verb (used without object)

1. to use gentle persuasion.

coax

²

[koh-aks, koh-aks]

noun

Electricity.

1. coaxial cable.

coax

¹

/ kəʊks /

verb

1. to seek to manipulate or persuade (someone) by tenderness, flattery, pleading, etc

2. (tr) to obtain by persistent coaxing

3. (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

4. obsolete,  (tr) to caress

5. obsolete,  (tr) to deceive

coax

²

/ ˈkəʊæks /

noun

1. short for coaxial cable

Other Word Forms

• coaxer noun
• coaxingly adverb

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of coax¹

C16: verb formed from obsolete noun cokes fool, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Now it’s graduation day, when native plants coaxed from seedling trays to 1-gallon pots stand ready for planting on the crossing itself this month.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Poitras takes viewers inside Hersh’s process: the notebooks crammed with barely decipherable shorthand, the Rolodexes packed with names and numbers, the long calls coaxing sources to talk.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There are times you have to coax a body into trusting you so that you can treat it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And to coax the apple into developing its signature red-pink hue, workers lay out sheets of reflective material by hand.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That threat, along with U.S. conciliations that followed, coaxed Qatar to demand its Hamas client sign on the dotted line.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cajole 
• entice 
• induce 
• tease 
• tempt 
• wheedle