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• costa
  costa

  noun

  a rib or riblike part.
• Costa
  Costa

  noun

  Lúcio 1902–98, Brazilian architect, chief designer of Brasilia.

costa

¹ American  

[kos-tuh, kaw-stuh] / ˈkɒs tə, ˈkɔ stə /

noun

• costae
  plural

1. a rib or riblike part.

2. the midrib of a leaf in mosses.

3. a ridge.

4. Entomology.

   1. Also called costal vein.  a vein, usually marginal, in the anterior portion of the wing of certain insects.

   2. Also called costal margin.  the anterior edge or border of the wing of certain insects.

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Costa ² American  

[kaw-stuh] / ˈkɔ stə /

noun

1. Lúcio 1902–98, Brazilian architect, chief designer of Brasilia.

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costa British  

/ ˈkɒstə /

noun

1. the technical name for rib 1

2. a riblike part, such as the midrib of a plant leaf

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costa Scientific  

/ kŏs′tə /

• costae
  plural

1. A rib or a riblike part, such as the midrib of a leaf or a thickened anterior vein or margin of an insect's wing.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pseudocosta
  noun
• costal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• costae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of costa

1865–70; < Latin: rib, side. See coast

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

costa Costa costae

In St. Augustine, Fla., saying "It costa me ten bucks but I like mucha better," Shrimper Tomas DiGrande got permission to change the name of his boat from Il Duce to Diana.

From Time Magazine Archive

Billfish Bite Goes Loco Anglers release more than 2,000 sails and marlin in costa rica.

From Time Magazine Archive

In this position the outer margin of the wing is the costa, the inner the dorsum, and the hind-margin the termen.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

Its fore wings are ochreous grey, with a narrow brown costal margin, and a triangular brown patch on the costa.

From Butterflies and Moths (British) by Furneaux, William S.

The angle between the costa and termen is the apex.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

Both men fell into the atrium stairwell at the Galeon Playa Apartments in the resort town of Costa Teguise after a night out.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Before his football career, the Utah native served on a two-year mission in Costa Rica with the Church of Latter Day Saints, according to Salt Lake City’s Deseret News.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Since then, most of the opposition has been exiled, and nearly a million Nicaraguans have fled the country as repression deepened, most of them to neighboring Costa Rica and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

EU chief Antonio Costa congratulated Burnham on taking up the job, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited him to visit Berlin to mark "the deep bond between us".

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

“She made our school sound dirty, and Mr. Costa works hard.”

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

True costae always correspond to the septa, and are in fact the peripheral edges of the latter.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

Intercostal: between veins or costae; usually in the narrow grooves between veins in the costal region of a wing.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

Its costae are very short, and retrusible; its two tentacles are pinnate and are also retrusible.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7 "Crocoite" to "Cuba" by Various

Shells globular, but having radiating and tuberculated costae.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various

Shell not carinated, but with radiating costae, which are often bifurcated, aperture often with lateral projections which contract it, aptychus formed of two pieces.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various