Coax
/koʊks/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A simpleton; a dupe. obsolete
"Go, you're a brainless Coax, a Toy, a Fop, I'll go no farther than your Name, Sir Gregory"
- 2 Clipping of coaxial cable. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable
- 3 a transmission line for high-frequency signals wordnet
Verb
- 1 To fondle, kid, pet, tease. obsolete
- 2 influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering wordnet
- 3 To wheedle or persuade (a person, organisation, animal etc.) gradually or by use of flattery to do something. transitive
"She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man."
- 4 To carefully manipulate (someone or something) into a particular desired state, situation or position. transitive
"They coaxed the rope through the pipe."
Adjective
- 1 Clipping of coaxial. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, not-comparable
Example
More examples"It still amazes me what she could coax out of table scraps."
Etymology
Etymology 1
Originally (1586) in the slang phrase to make a coax of, from earlier noun coax, cox, cokes "fool, simpleton", itself of obscure origin, perhaps related to cock (“male bird, pert boy”). The modern spelling is from 1706.
Etymology 2
Shortened from coaxial