coastline en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From coast + line.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) The shape, outline, or boundary of a coast. (The term coastline is generally used to describe the approximate boundaries at relatively large spatial scales.)
Tarbarrels and bonfires were lighted along the coastline of the four seas on the summits of the Hill of Howth, Three Rock Mountain, Sugarloaf, Bray Head, the mountains of Mourne, the Galtees, the Ox and Donegal and Sperrin peaks, the Nagles and the Bograghs, the Connemara hills, the reeks of M’ Gillicuddy, Slieve Aughty, Slieve Bernagh and Slieve Bloom.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 328:With the sea below us grey and storm swept, and the coast line vague in the driving rain, we forged our way up the bank to breast the summit at 37 m.p.h.
1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 8:The sweep of the rocky Southern California coastline off Point Fermin.
The journey is worth an article in itself, but all I can give is a flavour of a railway which traverses a bleak but dramatic coastline that's regularly battered by the elements - especially around Parton, where the line is constantly threatened by the sea.
2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, pages 56–57:The 71-year-old American, who relocated to the Indonesian destination in 2022, is a regular fixture on the sands of Sanur, which extends along the southeastern coastline of the tropical destination, known as the “Island of the Gods.”
2025 July 31, Tamara Hardingham-Gill, “‘Everyone I know in the US who has a conscience wants to leave’: Why this American woman relocated to Bali”, in CNN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| coastlines | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
seaside · shoreline · beachfront · oceanfront · coastland · shorefront · shore · coast · seashore · waterfront
Translations (30)
nn kystlinje (the shape of a coast) · nn kystline (the shape of a coast) · ka სანაპირო ზოლი (the shape of a coast) · ca riba (the shape of a coast) · cmn 海岸線 /海岸线 (the shape of a coast) · uk бережи́на (the shape of a coast) · fr littoral (the shape of a coast) · cs pobřežní čára (the shape of a coast) · ro coastă (the shape of a coast) · fr rive (the shape of a coast) · nb kystlinje (the shape of a coast) · pt linha costeira (the shape of a coast) · da kystlinje (the shape of a coast) · cs pobřeží (the shape of a coast) · sw mwambao (the shape of a coast) · es línea costera (the shape of a coast) · ro litoral (the shape of a coast) · cy morlin (the shape of a coast) · mi tātika (the shape of a coast) · de Küstenlinie (the shape of a coast) · nl kustlijn (the shape of a coast) · ca línia de costa (the shape of a coast) · sv kustlinje (the shape of a coast) · eo marbordo (the shape of a coast) · bg брегова́ ли́ния (the shape of a coast) · fi rantaviiva (the shape of a coast) · ja 海岸線 (the shape of a coast) · pap kosta (the shape of a coast) · ru берегова́я ли́ния (the shape of a coast) · mi tahatika (the shape of a coast)