noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K OW1 S T L AY2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The shape, outline, or boundary of a coast. (The term coastline is generally used to describe the approximate boundaries at relatively large spatial scales.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
The sweep of the rocky Southern California coastline off Point Fermin.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
the outline of a coast
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: outline, lineation
History
Etymology
From coast + line.
Across languages
Translations
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
брегова́ ли́ния
(bregová línija)
— the shape of a coast
Catalan:
línia de costa
— the shape of a coast
Catalan:
riba
— the shape of a coast
Chinese Mandarin:
海岸線 /海岸线
(hǎi'ànxiàn)
— the shape of a coast
Czech:
pobřežní čára
— the shape of a coast
Czech:
pobřeží
— the shape of a coast
Danish:
kystlinje
— the shape of a coast
Dutch:
kustlijn
— the shape of a coast
Esperanto:
marbordo
— the shape of a coast
Finnish:
rantaviiva
— the shape of a coast
French:
rive
— the shape of a coast
French:
littoral
— the shape of a coast
Georgian:
სანაპირო ზოლი
(sanaṗiro zoli)
— the shape of a coast
German:
Küstenlinie
— the shape of a coast
Japanese:
海岸線
(kaigansen)
— the shape of a coast
Māori:
tahatika
— the shape of a coast
Māori:
tātika
— the shape of a coast
Norwegian Bokmål:
kystlinje
— the shape of a coast
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kystline
— the shape of a coast
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kystlinje
— the shape of a coast
Papiamentu:
kosta
— the shape of a coast
Portuguese:
linha costeira
— the shape of a coast
Romanian:
coastă
— the shape of a coast
Romanian:
litoral
— the shape of a coast
Russian:
берегова́я ли́ния
(beregovája línija)
— the shape of a coast
Spanish:
línea costera
— the shape of a coast
Swahili:
mwambao
— the shape of a coast
Swedish:
kustlinje
— the shape of a coast
Ukrainian:
бережи́на
(berežýna)
— the shape of a coast