coast

Universal Words 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. * a mountainous area near the Welsh coast * a pretty stretch of coast * the coast road IDIOMS the coast is clear (informal) there is no danger of being seen or caught: As soon as the coast was clear he climbed in through the window. 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. * We coasted along the country lanes. 3 ~ (through / to sth) to be successful at sth without having to try hard: He coasted through his final exams. * Our horse coasted home (= won easily) by three lengths. 4 ~ (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 ______________________________ WHICHWORD? coast / shore / beach / seaside The coast is usually a long stretch of land next to the sea, for example the part of a country that is next to the sea: We live on the coast. The shore is the land at the edge of the sea or a lake: We camped on the north shore of Lake Michigan. * The survivors swam to shore. The beach is the part of the shore which is often covered with sand and is where people go to enjoy themselves or to relax: We went for a walk along the beach. * She took the kids to the beach for the day. In BrE, the seaside is sometimes used to mean an area on the coast where people go on holiday / vacation, but sea is now much more common for this. In both BrE and AmE seaside can be used in front of a noun: a seaside resort. ______________________________