Definition of 'coax'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense coaxes, present participle coaxing, past tense, past participle coaxed
1. transitive verb
2. transitive verb
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
coax in American English
verb transitive
1.
to induce or try to induce to do something; (seek to) persuade by soothing words, an ingratiating manner, etc.; wheedle
2.
to get by coaxing
verb intransitive
SYNONYMY NOTE: coax suggests repeated attempts to persuade someone to do something and implies the use
of soothing words, an ingratiating manner, etc.; cajole suggests the use of flattery or other blandishments; wheedle implies even more strongly the use of subtle flattery or craftily artful behavior
in gaining one's ends3.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
coaxer (ˈcoaxer)
noun
coaxingly (ˈcoaxingly)
adverb
Word origin
orig. slang, “to make a coax of” < obs. slang coax, cox, cokes, a fool, ninny
Word Frequency
coax in American English 1
(kouks)
transitive verb
1.
He coaxed her to sing, but she refused
2.
to obtain by coaxing
We coaxed the secret from him
3.
He coaxed the large chair through the door
intransitive verb
5.
to use gentle persuasion
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
coaxer noun
coaxingly
adverb
Word origin
[1580–90; v. use of cokes fool (now obs.), perh. var. of coxcomb]Word Frequency
coax in American English 2
(kouˈæks, ˈkouæks)
noun
Electricity See coaxial cable
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1945–50; by shortening]Word Frequency
coax in British English 1
verb
1.
3. (transitive)
he coaxed the engine into starting
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
coaxer (ˈcoaxer) noun
Word origin
C16: verb formed from obsolete noun cokes fool, of unknown origin
Word Frequency
coax in British English 2
noun
short for coaxial cable
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'coax' in a sentence
coax
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In other languages
coax
British English: coax
VERB /kəʊks/
If you coax someone into doing something, you gently try to persuade them to do it.
After lunch, she watched, listened, and coaxed him into talking about himself.
- American English: coax /ˈkoʊks/
- Brazilian Portuguese: persuadir com meiguice
- Chinese: 劝诱
- European Spanish: engatusar
- French: persuader
- German: überreden
- Italian: indurre (con moine)
- Japanese: 説得する
- Korean: 구슬리다
- European Portuguese: persuadir com meiguice
- Spanish: engatusar
- Thai: คะยั้นคะยอ, ชักชวน, เกลี้ยกล่อม, โน้มน้าว
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Definition of coax from the Collins English Dictionary
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