Coast n.
1. The side of a thing. [Obs.]
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.]