Coaster: A Mat, a Ride, and a Ship That Never Leaves the Coast
A coaster is a small mat placed under a glass. It also names a roller coaster and a ship that trades along a coast, and all three come from the idea of gliding.
A coaster protects a table from a glass. The name is older than the mat: a coaster was first a small tray slid along a dining table, and the verb behind it is coast, meaning to glide without effort.
- A mat under a glass. *Use a coaster on the wood.*
- A roller coaster. *The tallest coaster in the park.*
- A ship trading along a coast. *A coal coaster from Newcastle.*
- Someone doing the minimum (informal). *He is coasting through the year.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | coaster | A cork coaster. |
| Compound | roller coaster | A wooden roller coaster. |
| Verb | coast | She coasted to the finish. |
| Adjective | coasting | A coasting engine. |
| Related | beer mat | A cardboard beer mat. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Put a coaster under that, please.The everyday household sense.
- The year was an emotional roller coaster.Figurative — sharp ups and downs.
- Coasters carried cargo between small ports.Maritime trade before road haulage.
Coaster or beer mat?
- Coaster — usually harder material, meant to be kept
- Beer mat — absorbent card, given away by breweries
- British pubs say beer mat; homes and hotels say coaster
- Collecting beer mats has its own name, tegestology
The mat sense comes from an eighteenth-century wheeled tray that coasted along the table so decanters could be passed. Roller coaster is American and dates from the 1880s, when the earliest gravity rides opened at Coney Island.
Why is it called a roller coaster?
The car coasts under gravity along rollers or rails, with no power of its own after the first lift.
What does coasting mean about a person?
Doing just enough to keep going without real effort. It is mild criticism.