coastal.

Situated on, near or relating to the boundary between land and sea.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• coastal settlement
• coastal road

On the page

The coastal road followed the boundary between the steep ground and the sea.

A coastal settlement occupied the sheltered side of the bay.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting / description. Forms: Relational adjective; no ordinary comparative or superlative unless a meaningful degree of the characteristic is explicitly intended. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: spatial orientation, setting description, material description, contrast. Disciplines: descriptive writing, physical setting, spatial analysis. Commonness: moderately common.