/ kəʊst; NAmE koʊst/ noun , verb
■ noun
[ C , U ] the land beside or near to the sea or ocean :
a town on the south coast of England
islands off the west coast of Ireland
a trip to the coast
We walked along the coast for five miles.
the Welsh coast
a pretty stretch of coast
the coast road
•
IDIOMS
- the coast is clear
■ verb [ v ]
1.
[usually + adv. / prep. ] ( of a car or a bicycle ) to move, especially down a hill, without using any power :
The car coasted along until it stopped.
She took her feet off the pedals and coasted downhill.
2.
[usually + adv. / prep. ] ( of a vehicle ) to move quickly and smoothly, without using much power :
The plane coasted down the runway.
3.
coast (through / to sth) to be successful at sth without having to try hard :
He coasted through his final exams.
4.
coast (along) ( disapproving ) to put very little effort into sth :
You're just coasting—it's time to work hard now.
5.
( of a ship ) to stay close to land while sailing around the coast
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SYNONYMS
coast
beach ♦ seaside ♦ coastline ♦ shoreline ♦ sand ♦ seashore
These are all words for the land beside or near to the sea, a river or a lake.
coast
the land beside or near to the sea or ocean:
a town on the south coast of England
•
The coast road is closed due to bad weather.
NOTE
It is nearly always the coast , except when it is uncountable:
That's a pretty stretch of coast.
beach
an area of sand, or small stones, beside the sea or a lake:
She took the kids to the beach for the day.
•
sandy beaches
seaside
( especially BrE ) an area that is by the sea, especially one where people go for a day or a holiday:
a trip to the seaside
NOTE
It is always the seaside , except when it is used before a noun:
a seaside resort
. The seaside is British English; in American English seaside is only used before a noun.
coastline
the land along a coast, especially when you are thinking of its shape or appearance:
California's rugged coastline
shoreline
the edge of the sea, the ocean or a lake:
We walked along the rocky shoreline.
coastline or shoreline?
A coastline is always the edge of the sea or ocean, not a lake; coastline is usually used to talk about an area that is longer than a shoreline :
the Turkish coastline
•
the Dublin shoreline
.
sand
a large area of sand on a beach:
We went for a walk along the sand.
•
a resort with miles of golden sands
the seashore
the land along the edge of the sea or ocean, usually where there is sand and rocks:
He liked to look for shells on the seashore.
beach or seashore?
Beach is usually used to talk about a sandy area next to the sea where people lie in the sun or play, for example when they are on holiday. Seashore is used more to talk about the area by the sea in terms of things such as waves, sea shells, rocks, etc., especially where people walk for pleasure.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
along the coast / beach / coastline / shoreline / seashore
on the coast / beach / coastline / shoreline / sands / seashore
at the coast / beach / seaside / seashore
by the coast / seaside / seashore
a(n) rocky / rugged / unspoiled coast / beach / coastline / shoreline
the north / northern / south / southern, etc. coast / coastline / shoreline
to go to the coast / beach / seaside / seashore
a coast / beach / seaside resort
a stretch of coast / beach / coastline / shoreline
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense side of the body ), from Old French coste (noun), costeier (verb), from Latin costa rib, flank, side. The current noun sense arose from the phrase coast of the sea side of the sea .