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Gold Coast

Gold Coast

1 6.3
A wealthy area by the coast with large, expensive houses
  • noun
  • /ɡoʊld koʊst/
translation icon : Costa de Oro
  • Tourists flock to the Gold Coast for its stunning beaches and high-end shops.
  • Chicago's Gold Coast

Examples

  • The couple bought a beautiful house on the Gold Coast, where luxury living is the norm.

  • Living in an apartment on Chicago's Gold Coast means enjoying some of the city's most upscale amenities.

  • It's another beautiful day on the Gold Coast.

  • And it was a typical hot day in the Easter holidays on the Gold Coast.

  • The tour will then take us along the "Gold Coast," home of some of Chicago's most affluent families, and then by the Chicago Yacht Club and McCormick Place, the huge trade show center.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

Beverly Hills
vsGold Coast
76 2.7

A city near Los Angeles, California, known for rich people and the film industry

is a general coastal luxury neighborhood type without celebrity or city status
top end of town
vsGold Coast
  • UK
8.0

The most expensive area of a town where rich people live

is an entire wealthy neighborhood often located along a coast
yuppity neighborhood
vsGold Coast
  • Archaic
8.7

An area that is fashionable and expensive where many young professionals live

is a wealthy residential area known for luxury rather than youthful trendiness

How Affluent

upmarket
  • UK
2 5.9
Gold Coast
1 6.3
middle-class
201 3.2
working-class
56 3.4

Surface Forms

Gold Coast singular
Gold Coasts plural

Morphology

Gold + coast

The compound pairs 'gold' (a universal metaphor for value/wealth) with 'coast' (seaside), so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer a meaning like 'a wealthy or luxurious coastal area.' However this is a metaphorical extension rather than a strictly literal composition and can be ambiguous with proper-name uses (e.g., the historical Gold Coast), so the relation is not fully predictable for all B1 learners.

Etymology

Gold Coast is used for a rich neighborhood by the water. The word gold suggests 'wealth' and coast shows it is by the sea, so the phrase means a place with expensive homes and a wealthy life.