coaster

noun

1. A person who originates from or inhabits a coastal area.

   “People said, "Eldridge. Of course, he's an old Coaster," and Eldridge, the middle-aged shipping agent, at the beginning of every meal would say, "Chop, as we call it on the Coast," or handing a plate of onions, "Violets, we say on the Coast."”

2. A sailor (especially the master or pilot of a vessel) who travels only in coastal waters.

   “Thus, with ſhort Plummets Heav'ns deep will we ſound, / That vaſt Abyſs where humane Wit is drown'd! / In our ſmall Skiff we muſt not launce too far; / We here but Coaſters, not Diſcov'rers are.”

   “If you question a seaman on the subject, whether mere coaster or circumnavigator, he will tell you that in a snow-storm, because of its constant eddyings and gyrations, frequent trimming of sails is more necessary than in any other gale, and that to steer a straight and steady course under such circumstances is for the time simply impossible.”

3. A merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country.

   “His father was skipper of a small coaster, from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the care of his mother, by whose exertions he received a common-school education, passing his winters in school and his summers in the coasting trade, until his seventeenth year, when he left home to go upon foreign voyages.”

   “The single line to Exmouth Docks curves round the back of the goods yard. […] The docks can handle vessels of up to 700 tons; on the day of my visit an English coaster was discharging coal and a Dutch coaster arrived with a cargo of wood pulp from Sweden.”

   “Overhead, the black flag with the white skull-and-crossbones symbolizing defiance of radio regulations fluttered limply atop the two-hundred-foot mast mounted on the converted coaster from which they operated.”

4. (Canada, US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of coaster trout (“the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Lake Superior and Maine”).
5. (US)A cow from the coastal part of Texas.

   “The ranch's rangy coasters, the only saleable cattle they then held, could not compete with cattle from a growing number of Midwest farmer-feeders or with competitors stocking the northern ranges.”

   “2021, Ernest Haycox, Karl May, Zane Grey, 50 Westerns But our market required a better quality than coasters and Mexican cattle, and we turned back up the country.”

6. (dated, slang)A prostitute, especially one of European descent, plying her trade in Chinese port towns.

   “I think you can say this much, that from these traces of callus I'd venture she was once a ballet dancer—and later got her living otherwise—as a coaster perhaps.”

   “Gently again, he raised his hand to tap on the smooth white panels of the coaster’s door, but once more his interview with Ruby Braunfeld was postponed.”

   “Once engaged to be married, Lily and Doc [in the film Shanghai Express (1932)] have been separated for more than five years because of Doc's jealous reaction to a ploy Lily had used to test his love. They meet, by chance, on the Shanghai Express. Lily has become a "coaster", a vamp who travels along the China coast looking for men to victimize, and Doc has thrown himself into his work as a British medical officer.”

   “I have studied your astrological chart and it fills me with more concern than hatred. If you stay in China, I fear you will end up a coaster.”

7. (Australia, slang)Agent noun of coast: one who coasts.
8. (US)Agent noun of coast: one who coasts.

   “It was cold but still, and Polly trotted down the smooth, snow-covered mall, humming to herself, and trying not to feel homesick. The coasters were at it with all their might, and she watched them, till her longing to join the fun grew irresistible.”

9. Agent noun of coast: one who coasts.

   “In Prashar's opinion, there are two types of manager: "coasters, who coast along in a job, and sprinters, who have a challenge, deal with it and then move on."”

10. (dated)Something that coasts or is used to coast.
11. (broadly)Something that coasts or is used to coast.
12. (broadly, slang)Something that coasts or is used to coast.
13. (US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal)Something that coasts or is used to coast.

    “You can lose hours to tilting, tweaking, and twisting individual sections of a coaster, playing with loops and rolls until it provides maximum thrills without subjecting your visitors to an astronaut's worth of G-force.”

14. (US)Something that coasts or is used to coast.
15. (Philippines)Something that coasts or is used to coast.

    “coaster bus”

    “"O, siya. Basta bilisan mo na riyan." PAKIRAMDAM ni Jhunnica ay inaalat siya nang araw na iyon. Naiwan siya ng service coaster bus na naghahatid at sumusundo sa kanilang mga empleyado ng Stallion Riding Club. Isang exclusive club iyon ng mayayamang mahilig sa kabayo mula sa iba't ibang panig ng bansa. […]”

    “coaster (kóws‧ter) png [Ing] 1: maliit na bus 2: maliit na pansapin tulad ng kortso, papel, o mababaw na tray.[…]”

    “5. Tourist Land Transport Vehicle shall refer to bus, coaster, van and catering to tourists with tourist transport service franchise issued by the LTFRB;[…]”