Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Coast \Coast\, 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.

   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} (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.]