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Webster 1913 Edition

Coast

Coast

(kōst)
,
Noun.
[OF.
coste
, F.
côte
, rib, hill, shore, coast, L.
costa
rib, side. Cf.
Accost
,
Verb.
T.
,
Cutlet
.]
1.
The side of a thing.
[Obs.]
Sir I. Newton.
2.
The exterior line, limit, or border of a country; frontier border.
[Obs.]
From the river, the river Euphrates, even to the uttermost sea, shall your
coast
be.
Deut. xi. 24.
3.
The seashore, or land near it.
He sees in English ships the Holland
coast
.
Dryden.
We the Arabian
coast
do know
At distance, when the species blow.
Waller.
The coast is clear
,
the danger is over; no enemy in sight.
Dryden.
Fig.:
There are no obstacles.
“Seeing that
the coast was clear
, Zelmane dismissed Musidorus.”
Sir P. Sidney.
–
Coast guard
.
(a)
A body of men originally employed along the coast to prevent smuggling; now, under the control of the admiralty, drilled as a naval reserve.
[Eng.]
(b)
The force employed in life-saving stations along the seacoast.
[U. S.]
–
Coast rat
(Zool.)
,
a South African mammal (
Bathyergus suillus
), about the size of a rabbit, remarkable for its extensive burrows; – called also
sand mole
.
–
Coast waiter
,
a customhouse officer who superintends the landing or shipping of goods for the coast trade.
[Eng.]

Coast

(kōst)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Coasted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Coasting
.]
[OE.
costien
,
costeien
,
costen
, OF.
costier
,
costoier
, F.
côtoyer
,
fr
.
Of
. coste coast, F.
côte
. See
Coast
,
Noun.
]
1.
To draw or keep near; to approach.
[Obs.]
Anon she hears them chant it lustily,
And all in haste she
coasteth
to the cry.
Shakespeare
2.
To sail by or near the shore.
The ancients
coasted
only in their navigation.
Arbuthnot.
3.
To sail from port to port in the same country.
4.
[Cf. OF.
coste
, F.
côte
, hill, hillside.]
To slide down hill; to slide on a sled, upon snow or ice.
[Local, U. S.]

Coast

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To draw near to; to approach; to keep near, or by the side of.
[Obs.]
Hakluyt.
2.
To sail by or near; to follow the coast line of.
Nearchus, . . . not knowing the compass, was fain to
coast
that shore.
Sir T. Browne.
3.
To conduct along a coast or river bank.
[Obs.]
The Indians . . .
coasted
me along the river.
Hakluyt.

Webster 1828 Edition

Coast

COAST

, n.
1.
The exterior line, limit or border of a country, as in Scripture. From the river to the uttermost sea shall your coast be. Deut. 11. And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim. Numb. 24. Hence the word may signify the whole country within certain limits. Ex. 10:4.
2.
The edge or margin of the land next to the sea; the sea-shore. This is the more common application of the word; and it seems to be used for sea-coast, the border of the sea. Hence it is never used for the bank of a river.
3.
A side; applied to objects indefinitely, by Bacon and Newton. This is a correct use of the word, but now obsolete.
4.
The country near the sea-shore; as, populous towns along the coast.
The coast is clear, is a proverbial phrase signifying, the danger is over; the enemies have marched off, or left the coast.

COAST

, v.i.
1.
To sail near a coast; to sail by or near the shore, or in sight of land.
The ancients coasted only in their navigation.
2.
To sail from port to port in the same country.

COAST

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To sail by or near to; as, to coast the American shore.
2.
To draw near; to approach; to follow.

Definition 2024

coast

coast

English

Noun

coast ‎(plural coasts)

  1. (obsolete) The side or edge of something. [15th-18th c.]
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Isaac Newton to this entry?)
  2. The edge of the land where it meets an ocean, sea, gulf, bay, or large lake. [from 14th c.]
    The rocky coast of Maine has few beaches.
  3. (obsolete) A region of land; a district or country. [14th-17th c.]
    • 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew 2:
      Then Herod perceavynge that he was moocked off the wyse men, was excedynge wroth, and sent forth and slue all the chyldren that were in bethleem, and in all the costes thereof […].
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.ii.3:
      P. Crescentius, in his lib. 1 de agric. cap. 5, is very copious in this subject, how a house should be wholesomely sited, in a good coast, good air, wind, etc.
  4. (obsolete) A region of the air or heavens. [14th-17th c.]
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iii:
      the learned Merlin, well could tell, / Vnder what coast of heauen the man did dwell […].

Hypernyms

  • (edge of land meeting an ocean, sea, gulf, or bay): shore, shoreline

Hyponyms

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

Verb

coast ‎(third-person singular simple present coasts, present participle coasting, simple past and past participle coasted)

  1. (intransitive) To glide along without adding energy.
    When I ran out of gas, fortunately I managed to coast into a nearby gas station.
  2. (intransitive, nautical) To sail along a coast.
    • Arbuthnot
      The ancients coasted only in their navigation.
  3. Applied to human behavior, to make a minimal effort, to continue to do something in a routine way. This implies lack of initiative and effort.
  4. (obsolete) To draw near to; to approach; to keep near, or by the side of.
    • Shakespeare
      Anon she hears them chant it lustily, / And all in haste she coasteth to the cry.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Hakluyt to this entry?)
  5. (obsolete) To sail by or near; to follow the coastline of.
    • Sir Thomas Browne
      Nearchus, […] not knowing the compass, was fain to coast that shore.
  6. (obsolete) To conduct along a coast or river bank.
    • Hakluyt
      The Indians […] coasted me along the river.
  7. (US, dialect) To slide downhill; to slide on a sled upon snow or ice.

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English and Old French coste, from Latin costa ‎(“edge”).

Pronunciation

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