Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Coast?

\Coast\, n. [OF. coste, F. c[^o]te, rib, hill, shore, coast, L. costa rib, side. Cf. {Accost}, v. 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Coasted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Coasting}.] [OE. costien, costeien, costen, OF. costier, costoier, F. c[^o]toyer, fr. Of. coste coast, F. c[^o]te. See {Coast}, n.] 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. --Shak. 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. c[^o]te, hill, hillside.] To slide down hill; to slide on a sled, upon snow or ice. [Local, U. S.]
\Coast\, v. 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.