the land along a coast, especially when you are thinking of its shape or appearancea rugged/rocky/beautiful coastlineto protect the coastline from oil spillageSynonymscoastbeachseasidecoastlinesandseashoreThese are all words for the land beside or near to the sea, a river or a lake.coast the land beside or near to the sea or ocean:a town on the south coast of EnglandThe coast road is closed due to bad weather.It is nearly always the coast, except when it is uncountable:That’s a pretty stretch of coast.beach an area of sand, or small stones, beside the sea or a lake:She took the kids to the beach for the day.sandy beachesseaside(especially British English) an area that is by the sea, especially one where people go for a day or a holiday:a trip to the seasideIt is always the seaside, except when it is used before a noun:a seaside resort.The seaside is British English; in American English seaside is only used before a noun.coastline the land along a coast, especially when you are thinking of its shape or appearance:California’s rugged coastlinesand a large area of sand on a beach:We went for a walk along the sand.a resort with miles of golden sandsthe seashore the land along the edge of the sea or ocean, usually where there is sand and rocks:He liked to look for shells on the seashore.beach or seashore?Beach is usually used to talk about a sandy area next to the sea where people lie in the sun or play, for example when they are on holiday/vacation. Seashore is used more to talk about the area by the sea in terms of things such as waves, sea shells, rocks, etc, especially where people walk for pleasure.Patternsalong the coast/beach/coastline/seashoreon the coast/beach/coastline/sands/seashoreat the coast/beach/seaside/seashoreby the coast/seaside/seashore a(n) rocky/unspoiled coast/beach/coastline to go to the coast/beach/seaside/seashoreOxford Collocations Dictionaryadjectivelong,beautiful,spectacular,…… of coastlinestretchverb + coastlinefollowcoastline + verbstretch,erodeprepositionalong a/the coastline,around a/the coastline,round a/the coastline,…Seefull entrySee related entries:Coastlines and the seaExtra examplesThe coastline stretches for miles.The road follows the Pacific coastline.They fish off the Wanganui coastline.They sailed along the rugged coastline.They’re sailing around the Atlantic coastline of Floridalong stretches of unspoilt coastlinethe search for oil off the Welsh coastlineMeasures were taken to protect the coastline from oil spillage.The highway gives stunning views of California’s rugged coastline.
See coastline in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee coastline in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
