coca
noun
a shrub, Erythroxylon coca, native to the Andes, having simple, alternate leaves and small yellowish flowers.
coca
1 American
[koh-kuh]
/ ˈkoʊ kə /
noun
-
cocas
plural
-
a shrub, Erythroxylon coca, native to the Andes, having simple, alternate leaves and small yellowish flowers.
-
the dried leaves of this shrub, which are chewed for their stimulant properties and which yield cocaine and other alkaloids.
Coca
2
American
[koh-kuh]
/ ˈkoʊ kə /
noun
coca
British
/ ˈkəʊkə /
noun
-
either of two shrubs, Erythroxylon coca or E. truxiuense, native to the Andes: family Erythroxylaceae
-
the dried leaves of these shrubs and related plants, which contain cocaine and are chewed by the peoples of the Andes for their stimulating effects
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coca
First recorded in 1610–20; from Spanish, from Quechua kuka
Vocabulary lists containing coca
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:
De la Espriella also pledged to begin fumigating coca fields, which Petro had said covered about 626,000 acres, as early as Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He also wants to build so-called "mega-prisons" and use pesticides to eradicate coca crops.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
The coca leaf is an ancestral crop traditionally used by indigenous communities in teas and medicines.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Paz's election brought an end to two decades of socialist rule launched by Indigenous coca farmer Evo Morales in the mid-2000s.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, and waging an anticorruption campaign.
From The 2004 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
"Coca is a business," says Gloria Miranda, director of the government agency in charge of illicit crop substitution in Colombia.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
While that could be somewhat offset by product mix and promotions, Vita Coca is still guiding for gross margins to come in at 38%, above its five-year average of 32% and the fourth-quarter’s 35%.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
Defensive stocks including Unilever and Coca Cola gain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
Rick Coca, a spokesperson for the bar, said he can’t comment on whether it will launch an investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
“Gallons of it. Sarsaparilla, root beer, birch beer, ginger ale, Moxie, lemon soda, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Dipsi Cola, Pipsi Cola, Popsi Cola, and raspberry cream tonic. Anything you want.”
From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White
Instead, there are cocas, which look like pizza but aren’t, as cheeky murals on the wall insist.
From The New Yorker ● May 31, 2019
Place 4 of the par-baked cocas on a clean, flat work surface.
From Time Magazine Archive
Using a spatula, carefully place cocas on baking surface and cook until cheese is melted and golden.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
