- The coast is clear
- Coast Coast (k[=o]st), 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. The exterior line, limit, or border of a country; frontier border. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
From the river, the river Euphrates, even to the uttermost sea, shall your coast be. --Deut. xi. 24. [1913 Webster]
3. The seashore, or land near it. [1913 Webster]
He sees in English ships the Holland coast. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
We the Arabian coast do know At distance, when the species blow. --Waller. [1913 Webster]
{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.] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.