coalhole
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coal·hole /'kəʊlhəʊl/ BrE || coal cellar AmE n a small
usually underground room where coal is stored
coal·house /'kəʊlhaʊs/ n pl. -houses /haʊzɪz/ a small
building where coal is stored
co·a·li·tion /ˌkəʊə'lɪʃən/ n a union of separate political
parties for a special purpose (especially to form a govern-
ment), usually for a limited period of time: to form a
coalition | a coalition government
coal·man /'kəʊlmæn/ n pl. -men /men/ a man who delivers
coal to people's houses
'coal mine n a mine from which coal is dug —coal miner n
—coal mining n [U]
coal·scut·tle /'kəʊlˌskʌtl/ also scuttle n a bucket in which
coal is carried and from which it can be poured
'coal tar n [U] a thick black sticky liquid made by heating
coal without air, from which many drugs and chemical
products may be obtained
coarse /kɔːs||kɔːrs/ adj 1 not fine or smooth; lumpy or
rough: coarse sand | a coarse woollen cloth 2 lacking grace,
education, or sensitivity; CRUDE; VULGAR: coarse behaviour | a
coarse joke —ly adv —ness n [U]
,coarse 'fishing n [U] BrE the sport of trying to catch fish
that are not TROUT or SALMON in lakes or rivers
coars·en /'kɔːsən||'kɔːr-/ v [I;T] to (cause to) become coarse
coast¹ /kəʊst/ n 1 [the S;C] the land on or close to the edge
of the sea: The ship sank three miles off the French coast. | a
hotel on the coast | the southern and eastern coasts of Britain
→ see also SHORE (USAGE) 2 [C] especially AmE an act of coasting
down a hill 3 the coast is/was clear infinitive all danger
has/had gone: As soon as the coast was clear the two thieves
made their getaway.
coast² v 1 [(along, down, ALONG)] to keep moving, especially
down a hill, without using any effort or power: The children
were coasting along on their bicycles/coasting down the
slope. | (fig.) She coasted through her exams. → compare
FREEWHEEL 2 [I;T] AmE SLEDGE
coast·al /'kəʊstl/ adj [A no comp.] on or near the coast: a
coastal resort | coastal waters | coastal fishing
coast·er /'kəʊstə/ n 1 a ship which sails from port to port
along a coast 2 a small round mat placed under a bottle,
glass etc to protect a table top or other surface → see also
ROLLER COASTER
'coaster ,brake n AmE a BRAKE on a bicycle which is worked
by moving the PEDALS backwards
coast·guard /'kəʊstɡɑːdl-gɑːrd/ n 1 [the S+sing./pl. v] (often
caps.) a naval or police organization that watches from the
coast for ships in danger and attempts to prevent unlawful
activity at sea 2 [C] a member of this organization
coast·line /'kəʊstlan/ n the shape of a coast, especially as
seen from the sea or on a map: a rocky coastline
coat¹ /kəʊt/ n 1 an outer garment with long SLEEVES, often
fastened at the front with buttons and usually covering the
body down to the knees, worn especially to keep warm or for
protection: a warm winter coat | a fur coat | a raincoat | a
scientist in a white coat → see also MORNING COAT 2 BrE
old-fashioned AmE a JACKET 3 an animal's fur, wool, or hair: The
dog's coat was shiny and healthy-looking. 4 [(of)] a covering
spread over a surface: a coat of paint/dust 5 -coated
/kəʊtɪd/ having the stated kind of coat: a curly-coated dog |
a chocolate-coated biscuit 6 be all fur coat and no knickers
BrE infml used in order to say that someone never does what
they promise to do, or that they make you believe some-
thing that is not completely true: Don't believe a word she
says - that girl's all fur coat and no knickers. → see also cut
one's coat according to one's cloth (CUT)
coat² v [T(in, with)] to cover with a COAT: to coat a cake with
chocolate | The table was coated in/with dust.
'coat check n AmE for a CLOAKROOM
'coat ,hanger n a HANGER
coat·ing /'kəʊtɪŋ/ n 1 [C(of)] a covering on or over a surface:
a cake with a coating of chocolate | electric wire with a plastic
coating 2 [U] cloth from which coats are made
coat of arms
,coat of 'arms n pl. coats of
arms a set of patterns or
pictures, usually painted on
a shield or shield-like shape,
used by a noble family, town
council, university etc, as
their special sign → see also
HERALDRY
,coat of ,many 'colours,
the the coat which, accord-
ing to the Bible, Jacob made
for his favourite son, Joseph
→ see also JOSEPH
coat·room /'kəʊtrm,
-ruːm/ n AmE for a CLOAK-
ROOM
'coat tails n [P] 1 the long
divided piece of material which hangs down from the back of
a man's TAILCOAT 2 on someone's coat tails especially AmE
(especially in politics) using the help or influence of someone
else: He was voted into the Assembly on Davidson's coat tails.
coax /kəʊks/ v [T] 1 [(into, out of)] to persuade (someone) by
gentle kindness, patience, or FLATTERY: The children had to be
coaxed into going to school. | [+to-v] She coaxed him to take her
to the theatre. | (fig.) to coax a wire through a hole 2 [(+obj+adv/
prep)] to get (something) by gently persuading: I coaxed a
smile from the little girl. —ingly adv
cob /kɒb||kɑːb/ n 1 a CORNCOB → see also CORN ON THE
COB 2 a male SWAN 3 a strong short-legged type of
horse 4 a type of large nut, especially one from the HAZEL
tree
Co·bain, Kurt /'kəʊ'beɪn,
kɜːt||kɜːrt/ (1967-94) a US
singer and songwriter with
the group NIRVANA, who
developed a new style of
ROCK music called 'Grunge',
which was popular in the
early 1990s and who killed
himself. He was married to
Courtney Love.
co·balt /'kəʊbɔːlt/ n [U] a
shiny silver-white metal that
is an ELEMENT (=a simple
substance) used in blue col-
ouring materials and in
making metals
Kurt Cobain
Cobb, Ty /kɒb||kɑːb, taɪ/
(1886-1961) a US BASEBALL
player, known for being the first person to score 4000 BASE
HITS
cob·ber /'kɒbə||'kɑː-/ n AustE & NZE, infml a friend; MATE
cob·ble /'kɒbəl||'kɑː-/ v [T] 1 [(TOGETHER)] to make or put
together quickly and roughly: We cobbled together a proposal
to put before the committee. 2 [rare] to repair (shoes)
cob·bled /'kɒbld||'kɑː-/ adj (of a road) covered with cobble
stones.
Cob·bleigh /'kɒblɪɪg||'kɑː-/ old Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and
all a line from an old British song about a large group of
people who do things together. The people are all listed by
name, and the list ends with the words 'old Uncle Tom
Cobbleigh and all'. The phrase is now used to say that every
possible person was present or involved in something.
cob·bler /'kɒblə||'kɑː-/ n 1 a person who makes or repairs
shoes 2 AmE a cooked fruit dish with a sweet bread-like
topping: peach cobbler
cob·blers /'kɒbləz||'kɑːblərz/ n [U] BrE slang foolish talk;
nonsense: I've never heard such a load of old cobblers in
my whole life!
cob·ble·stone /'kɒbəlstəʊn||'kɑː-/ also cobble n [usually pl.]
a naturally rounded stone, used for covering the surface of
roads in former times
co·bra /'kəʊbrə/ n an African or Asian poisonous snake that
can spread the skin of its neck to make itself look bigger
cob·web /'kɒbweb||'kɑːb-/ also spiderweb AmE n 1 a
very fine network of sticky threads made by a SPIDER to catch