coast
verbEtymology From Middle English costeien (“to travel along a border or coast; to go alongside (something), skirt; to accompany, follow; to travel across, traverse; to be adjacent to, to border;”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman [Term?], Old French costoier (“to be at the side of”) […] (modern French côtoyer (“to pass alongside; (figuratively) to rub shoulders”)), from Latin costicāre, from Latin costa (“rib; side, wall”); see further at etymology 1.
7 senses
- 1To glide along without adding energy; to allow a vehicle…
- 2To sail along a coast.
- 3To make a minimal effort; to continue to do something in…
- 4To draw near to; to approach; to keep near, or by the side of.
- 5To sail by or near; to follow the coastline of.
- 6To conduct along a coast or river bank.
- 7To slide downhill; to slide on a sled upon snow or ice.
1
To glide along without adding energy; to allow a vehicle to continue moving forward after disengaging the engine or ceasing to apply motive power.
- When I ran out of gas, fortunately I managed to coast into a nearby gas station.
- We steamed easily across the first part of the Tay Bridge, and then after passing over the long spans in mid-stream we coasted smoothly down the 1 in 114 gradient, and around the sweeping curve through Esplanade Station.1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 7:
1 more example
- Avanti West Coast has introduced the use of coasting with its Pendolino fleet, in an effort to keep disruption during overhead line equipment failures to a minimum. [...] The Class 390s coasted for three miles without power between Harrow & Wealdstone and Wembley Central, running under damaged OLE.2020 September 23, “Network News: AWC employs coasting to minimise disruption”, in Rail, page 26:
- The Ancients coasted only in their Navigations.1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures. Explain'd and exemplify'd in several dissertations:
- The bold little ships even broke through the Gates of Hercules to the open ocean, coasting then northward to take the gold of Ireland and the tin of Cornwall, as well as southward, around the bulge of Senegal, to remote Yorubaland and the distant marts of ivory, gold, and slaves.1968, Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2nd edition, London: Fontana Press, published 1993, page 14:
3
Figuratively To make a minimal effort; to continue to do something in a routine way, without initiative or effort.
- Yet the truth is that City would probably have been coasting by that point if the referee, Michael Oliver, had not turned down three separate penalties, at least two of which could be accurately described as certainties.2014 November 2, Daniel Taylor, “Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 02 Jun 2022:
- Rehearsal goes reasonably. Wheeler long ago swore that he would never coast through a performance, and he plays decently well. But it seems to him as if a lot of the orchestra is distracted. Some cues get missed. He makes meaningful eye contact with the conductor a couple of times, and they share a frustrated look. When they break for dinner, late in the afternoon, the conductor, whose name is Luján, privately remarks to him, "Their eyes need fixing."2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2025, page 136:
2 more examples
- There’s a similar “sure but what else?” vibe to Made for Love, HBO Max’s new high-concept half-hour comedy, gently coasting on its WTF setup for longer than it should, to the detriment of the main star Cristin Milioti, trying her very best to secure our attention as it slowly drifts elsewhere.2021 March 31, Benjamin Lee, “Made for Love review – Black Mirror-esque comedy needs an upgrade”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2021:
- “I just assumed that because she’s, like, really hot and got loads of followers and is Taylor’s [Taylor Fritz's] girlfriend, she’s basically coasting,” said Ms. Barber, who used the phrase “train wreck” to describe her expectations for the project.2023 August 30, Jessica Testa, quoting Grace Barber, “The Most Famous Woman in Men’s Tennis”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 13 Jan 2024:
4
Obsolete To draw near to; to approach; to keep near, or by the side of.
- Anon she hears them chant it lustily, / And all in haste she coasteth to the cry.1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:
- The 25. day of the same moneth we fell with the Cape Cantin , vpon the coast of Barbarie , and coasting along , the 27. day we found an Island called Mogado1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC:
5
Obsolete To sail by or near; to follow the coastline of.
- Nearchus, […] not knowing the compass, was fain to coast that shore.1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
6
Obsolete To conduct along a coast or river bank.
- The Indians […] coasted me a long the river.1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC: