coastings

Noun

coasting (countable and uncountable, plural coastings)

1. The act of sailing along a coast, or from port to port.
   • Glory be to God, all sublunary coastings will soon be over. Yet a little while, and we shall get into an eternal harbour.1772, A Select Collection of Letters of the Late Reverend George Whitefield, page 390
2. The act of disengaging the gears of a moving vehicle and rolling along without the use of engine power.
   • Avanti West Coast has introduced the use of coasting with its Pendolino fleet, in an effort to keep disruption during overhead line equipment failures to a minimum. [...] The Class 390s coasted for three miles without power between Harrow & Wealdstone and Wembley Central, running under damaged OLE.2020 September 23, “Network News: AWC employs coasting to minimise disruption”, in Rail, page 26
3. A progression of symptoms after treatment, before gradual improvement begins.
4. Drinking nolo drinks so as to imbibe less alcohol while still enjoying tippling.
   • Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations often used to result in a hangover, but with moderation now the order of the day the new drinks industry buzzword is "coasting". This involves choosing a white wine, lager or even a cocktail that is about half the strength of the traditional version —...2025 December 31, Zoe Wood, “Drinkers turn to low-alcohol beverages so they can 'coast' through season”, in The Guardian, page 3