Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A bus, especially one designed for long-distance passenger service.
  • noun A railroad passenger car.
  • noun A closed automobile, usually with two doors.
  • noun A large, closed, four-wheeled carriage with an elevated exterior seat for the driver; a stagecoach.
  • noun Coach class.
  • noun Sports A person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams.
  • noun A person who gives instruction, as in singing or acting.
  • noun A private tutor employed to prepare a student for an examination.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To transport by or ride in a coach.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In base-ball one of the players belonging to the side at the bat who takes his position near either first or third base and advises the base-runner when to run.
  • noun A tame bullock or horse used as a decoy in capturing wild cattle or horses.
  • To put in a coach; convey in a coach.
  • To run over with a coach.
  • To tutor; give private instruction to; especially, to instruct or train for a special examination or a contest: as, to coach a student for a college examinationl to coach a boat's crew; to coach a new hand in his duties.
  • To capture (wild cattle or horses) with the help of a tame bullock or horse as a decoy: see coach, n., 6.
  • noun A four-wheeled close vehicle of considerable size; originally, a finely built covered carriage for private use; now, any large inclosed vehicle with the body hung on easy springs, especially one for public conveyance of passengers: as, a stage-coach. See mail-coach, tally-ho.
  • noun A passenger-car on a railroad. See railroad-car.
  • noun An apartment in a large ship of war, near the stern and beneath the poop-deck, usually occupied by the captain.
  • noun A private tutor, especially one employed in preparing for a particular examination.
  • noun A person employed to train a boat's crew or other athletes for a contest.
  • noun The bone of the upper jaw of the sperm-whale. Also called sleigh. C. M. Scammon.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To convey in a coach.
  • transitive verb colloq. To prepare for public examination by private instruction; to train by special instruction.
  • noun A large, closed, four-wheeled carriage, having doors in the sides, and generally a front and back seat inside, each for two persons, and an elevated outside seat in front for the driver.
  • noun colloq. A special tutor who assists in preparing a student for examination.
  • noun (Naut.), obsolete A cabin on the after part of the quarter-deck, usually occupied by the captain.
  • noun (Railroad) A first-class passenger car, as distinguished from a drawing-room car, sleeping car, etc. It is sometimes loosely applied to any passenger car.
  • noun (sports) One who coaches
  • intransitive verb colloq., colloq. To drive or to ride in a coach; -- sometimes used with.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A wheeled vehicle, generally drawn by horse power.
  • noun rail transport A railroad car drawn by a locomotive.
  • noun A trainer or instructor.
  • noun UK A single decked long-distance, or privately hired bus.
  • noun nautical The forward part of the cabin space under the poop deck of a sailing ship; the fore-cabin under the quarter deck.
  • noun That part of a commercial passenger airplane reserved for those paying standard fare.
  • verb sports To train.
  • verb To instruct.
  • verb To travel in a coach (sometimes coach it).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach (to), as in sports
  • noun a person who gives private instruction (as in singing, acting, etc.)
  • noun (sports) someone in charge of training an athlete or a team
  • noun a railcar where passengers ride
  • noun a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
  • verb drive a coach
  • noun a carriage pulled by four horses with one driver

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French coche, from obsolete German Kotsche, from Hungarian kocsi, after Kocs, a town of northwest Hungary (where such carriages were first made).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French coche, from German Kutsche, from Hungarian kocsi. According to historians, the coach was named after the small Hungarian town of Kocs, which made a livelihood from cart building and transport between Vienna and Budapest.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word coach.

Examples

  • The term coach is a bit overrated because it is more of a management role.

    WalesOnline - Home 2011

  • However, flying the unfriendly skies in coach is now already terrible torture – at least for those of us with long legs.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Security Theater 2009

  • Despite the 2007 national title that Mr. Miles won, and his .789 winning percentage — the highest for any noninterim LSU coach in 100 years — many Tiger fans are convinced their coach is an incompetent manager who stumbles into success.

    Undefeated and Completely Miserable Darren Everson 2010

  • The problem lies in the fact that as the field grows, more and more people want to get in on the trend and the designation "coach" is being adopted by just about anyone looking to sell their services -- no matter how far from legitimate their claim.

    James M. Lynch: 5 Signs They're Probably Not a Coach James M. Lynch 2011

  • The problem lies in the fact that as the field grows, more and more people want to get in on the trend and the designation "coach" is being adopted by just about anyone looking to sell their services -- no matter how far from legitimate their claim.

    James M. Lynch: 5 Signs They're Probably Not a Coach James M. Lynch 2011

  • To pizazz it up a bit (as if you needed any more of a teaser), our coach is the 'miracle' man himself, Magic Mark Johnson, MVP and super sniper of the 1980 gold medal-winning men's hockey team.

    On the blueline: One game to go, vs. Canada, gold at stake 2010

  • His driver, J.J. Yeley, drove the past two seasons for JGR and said the coach is a motivational force at the track and the shop in Huntersville, N.C. "The whole tire shop can be down with guys dragging a bit," Yeley said.

    Gibbs free to spend more time with NASCAR team 2008

  • But … if your coach is the one who's being courted by another school or has been extremely successful and you want to be sure you can retain the coach, all of a sudden the perspective changes dramatically.

    Success on the court translates to big money for coaches 2007

  • And her coach is a guy who appears rude and arrogant.

    Archive 2007-02-18 Bill Crider 2007

  • They were awed by what they call the coach's "throwing us a bone."

    Old School, New Age 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Dad is.

    February 27, 2009

  • Originally (1500s) a kind of wagon named from Kocs in Hungary. A little before 1850 it is known in its other modern meaning: a person who trains you in your studies. (The sporting help came a bit later.) This was university slang, but the OED gives no clue as to what the bridge between the two senses might be. Study conceived as driving towards a destination with an experienced driver?

    May 27, 2009

  • When I was growing up, coach meaning a form of transport was in little use in Australia. It was bus or nothing. But I used to read British soccer magazines and was aware of the following hoary joke. To my amazement, I watched and winced as it was delivered by hotshot manager Tommy Docherty, imported from Britain by the South Melbourne club. Picture TD at the end of his first training session, the media eagerly awaiting a precious gem of evaluation of his new team:-

    TD: Well, I've come all the way here because I was told you need a new coach.

    Team: *murmurs*

    TD: After having seen you lot train today, I can tell you. It's not a coach you need, it's a hearse.

    Team: *bewilderment*

    May 27, 2009

  • "A four-wheeled close vehicle of considerable size; originally, a finely built covered carriage for private use; now, any large inclosed vehicle with the body hung on easy springs, especially one for public conveyance of passengers: as, a stage-coach. See mail-coach, tally-ho."

    --Cent. Dict.

    June 28, 2012