coach

coach

I

coach¹ S3 W2 /kəʊtʃ $ koʊtʃ/ noun
1.  SPORT  [countable] someone who trains a person or team in a sport:
    a tennis coach
    the Norwegian national coach
2.  HELP FOR EXAM  [countable] especially British English someone who gives private lessons to someone in a particular subject, especially so that they can pass an examination
3.  BUS  [countable] British English a bus with comfortable seats used for long journeys
   SYN  bus American English
    by coach
    We went to Paris by coach.
    on a coach
    She’s going to Grimsby on a coach.
    a coach trip to Scotland
    The restaurant was full of coach parties (=groups of people travelling together on a coach).
4.  TRAIN  [countable] British English one of the parts of the train in which the passengers sit
   SYN  car American English
5.  HORSES  [countable] a large carriage pulled by horses and used in the past for carrying passengers
6.  IN PLANE/TRAIN  [uncountable] American English the cheapest type of seats on a plane or train:
    We flew coach out to Atlanta.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 1)

■ types of coach
   ▪ a football/basketball/tennis etc coach Jody became the women’s basketball coach.
   ▪ the head coach (=the coach in charge of a team) Jim is head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
   ▪ an assistant coach He took a job as an assistant coach at the college.
   ▪ a national coach (=for a team that represents a whole country) Davies was the national coach up to the 1995 World Cup.
   ▪ the team coach He’s the youth team coach.
   ▪ a top coach (=a very good one) He’s one of America’s top coaches.
   ▪ a professional coach (=one whose job is teaching a sport) The tennis club has a professional coach.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 3)

■ types of coach
   ▪ an express coach (=travelling quickly without stopping much) Express coach services run throughout the day.
   ▪ a passenger coach The company had thirty-five new passenger coaches.
   ▪ a tourist coach A huge number of tourist coaches visit the site.
   ▪ an air-conditioned coach Travel is by air-conditioned coach.
■ verbs
   ▪ go/travel by coach We spent three days travelling by coach across France.
   ▪ get on/get off a coach A group of tourists were getting on the coach.
   ▪ board a coach formal (=get on one) When everyone was there, we boarded the coach for the journey home.
■ coach + NOUN
   ▪ a coach trip The two-night coach trip to Paris will cost £149.
   ▪ a coach tour How about going on a coach tour around Europe this year?
   ▪ a coach excursion (=a relatively short coach journey to visit a place) There are coach excursions to the great classical site at Ephesus.
   ▪ a coach party (=a group of people who travel by coach) We’re organizing a coach party to the theatre.
   ▪ a coach driver He worked as a part-time coach driver.
   ▪ a coach station You will go from Victoria Coach Station to Amsterdam.
   ▪ a coach service Our express coach service goes to the South of France and Costa Brava.
   ▪ coach travel The advantage of coach travel is that it’s relatively cheap.

II

coach² verb [transitive]
1. to teach a person or team the skills they need for a sport
   SYN  train ⇨ coaching:
    Nigel coaches a cricket team in his spare time.
2. especially British English to give someone private lessons in a particular subject, especially so that they can pass an important test ⇨ coaching
    coach somebody in/for something
    The child was coached for stardom by her mother.
3. to help someone prepare what they should say or do in a particular situation – used to show disapproval ⇨ coaching
    coach somebody in/on something
    The girl must have been carefully coached in what to say in court.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ teach to give lessons in a school, college, or university: I taught for a year in France. | He teaches physics at York University.
   ▪ lecture to teach in a college or university by giving talks to groups of students on a subject: He lectures in engineering at a local college.
   ▪ instruct formal to teach someone how to do something, especially a particular practical skill: He was instructing them how to use the computer system. | Staff are instructed in how to respond in the event of a fire.
   ▪ tutor to teach one student or a small group: I found work tutoring Mexican students in English.
   ▪ coach especially British English to give private lessons, especially so that someone can pass an important test: He coaches students for their university entrance exams.
   ▪ train to teach a person or group of people in the particular skills or knowledge they need to do a job: It will take at least a month to train the new assistant.
   ▪ educate to teach someone over a long period, usually at school or university: He was educated in England. | Her parents want to educate her at home.
   ▪ show somebody the ropes informal to show someone how to do a job or task that they have just started doing: Miss McGinley will show you the ropes and answer any questions you may have.