What does bicoastal mean?
Bicoastal is an adjective describing something that spans both coasts of a country, and in American English it almost always refers to the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards — above all the corridor between New York and Los Angeles. A bicoastal person maintains homes, jobs, or relationships on both coasts, shuttling between them; a bicoastal company has offices or operations on each side of the country. The word rose to prominence in the late twentieth century as cheap air travel made living simultaneously on both coasts practical for executives, entertainers, and other frequent flyers. Because of those associations, it often carries connotations of wealth, cosmopolitanism, and a fast-paced professional life, and it is occasionally used with a hint of irony to describe an elite, rootless lifestyle. Outside the United States the word is understood but rarely used, since it depends so heavily on the specific geography of the two American coasts.
adjectiveInvolving or relating to both coasts of a country, especially the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States.
- Relating to or operating on both coasts of the United States (Atlantic and Pacific), often describing people who live, work, or travel between New York and Los Angeles.
- (Of media companies, businesses, or cultural trends) having a significant presence or influence in both East Coast and West Coast centers.
"After years of a bicoastal marriage, they finally settled in New York."
"She kept a bicoastal career, splitting her weeks between a Manhattan office and a studio in Santa Monica."
"The agency built a bicoastal reputation by opening offices in both Boston and San Francisco."
A bicoastal person may live in two time zones at once — and the word itself is barely older than the jet age that made such a life possible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bicoastal
Bicoastal is formed from the prefix bi-, from Latin meaning 'two' or 'twice', combined with 'coastal', the adjective form of 'coast'. The English word 'coast' derives from Latin 'costa', meaning 'rib' or 'side', which came into English via Old French 'coste'. The compound is a twentieth-century American coinage, gaining currency as commercial air travel made routine transcontinental movement feasible.
How bicoastal is actually used
Bicoastal is chiefly an American term and carries connotations of affluence, mobility, and professional ambition — it often implies frequent air travel between the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. It is common in journalism and casual speech alike, and is frequently used attributively before nouns rather than predicatively.
Easily confused with bicoastal
Coastal means relating to a single coast or coastline, while bicoastal specifically involves two coasts, typically the US East and West Coasts.