coach

[kohch]

noun

1. a large, horse-drawn, four-wheeled carriage, usually enclosed.

2. a public motorbus.

3. Railroads.,  day coach.

4. Also called air coach. a class of airline travel providing less luxurious accommodations than first class at a lower fare.

5. a person who trains an athlete or a team of athletes.

   a football coach.

6. a private tutor who prepares a student for an examination.

   Synonyms: preceptor, mentor

7. a person who instructs an actor or singer.

8. Baseball.,  a playing or nonplaying member of the team at bat who is stationed in the box outside first or third base to signal instructions to and advise base runners and batters.

9. Nautical.,  an after cabin in a sailing ship, located beneath the poop deck, for use especially by the commander of the ship.

10. a type of inexpensive automobile with a boxlike, usually two-door, body manufactured in the 1920s.

11. mobile home.

verb (used with object)

1. to give instruction or advice to in the capacity of a coach; instruct.

   She has coached the present tennis champion.

verb (used without object)

1. to act as a coach.

2. to go by or in a coach.

adverb

1. by coach or in coach-class accommodations.

   We flew coach from Denver to New York.

coach

/ kəʊtʃ /

noun

1. a vehicle for several passengers, used for transport over long distances, sightseeing, etc

2. a large four-wheeled enclosed carriage, usually horse-drawn

3. a railway carriage carrying passengers

4. a trainer or instructor

   a drama coach

5. a tutor who prepares students for examinations

verb

1. to give tuition or instruction to (a pupil)

2. (tr) to transport in a bus or coach

Other Word Forms

• coacher noun
• coachable adjective
• coachability noun
• outcoach verb (used with object)
• overcoach verb
• uncoachable adjective
• uncoached adjective
• well-coached adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coach¹

First recorded in 1550–60; 1840–50 for sense “tutor”; earlier coche(e), from Middle French coche, from German Kotsche, Kutsche, from Hungarian kocsi, short for kocsi szekér “cart of Kocs,” town on the main road between Vienna and Budapest; senses referring to tutoring from the conception of the tutor as one who carries the student through examinations

Word History and Origins

Origin of coach¹

C16: from French coche, from Hungarian kocsi szekér wagon of Kocs, village in Hungary where coaches were first made; in the sense: to teach, probably from the idea that the instructor carried his pupils

Example Sentences

When it comes to making football-related decisions it is very likely he will be guided by the expertise of head coach Thomas Frank and technical director Johan Lange.

From BBC

“It’s amazing having them, and a third one is on the way,” coach Anthony Atkins said.

From Los Angeles Times

While the spouse of a slain hair mogul denied all wrongdoing and publicly grieved her husband — an executive at the hair care company Wella — she was involved in a torrid affair with her racquetball coach.

From Los Angeles Times

Half the group had coaching, the other half was on its own.

From Los Angeles Times

In a makeshift classroom, Mr White, the coach, launched into an extraordinary soliloquy.

From BBC

Related Words

• mentor 
• teacher 
• trainer