Coat or cote?
coat is a noun meaning “An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms”; cote is a noun meaning “A cottage or hut”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) coat is about 25 times as common as cote.
What is the difference between coat and cote?
| coat | cote | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms A covering of material, such as paint To cover with a coating of some material | A cottage or hut A small structure built to contain domesticated animals such as sheep, pigs or pigeons |
| Example | fresh coat of paint | A dog cotes a hare |
| Forms | coats | cotes |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkoʊ̯t/ [ˈkʰoʊ̯t] /ˈkəʊ̯t/ | /kəʊt/ /koʊt/ |
| In writing | 23 times per million words | about once in every 1 million words |
Sources: coat and cote in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of coat and cote
coat
- 1
An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms
- 2
To cover with a coating of some material
The frying pan was coated with a layer of non-stick material, making it easier to wash
- 3
A covering of material, such as paint
fresh coat of paint
- 4
To cover like a coat
- 5
The fur or feathers covering an animal's skin
Near-synonym: pelt
- 6
Canvas painted with thick tar and secured round a mast or bowsprit to prevent water running down the sides into the hold (now made of rubber or leather)
- 7
The habit or vesture of an order of men, indicating the order or office; cloth
- 8
A coat of arms
cote
- 1
A cottage or hut
- 2
A small structure built to contain domesticated animals such as sheep, pigs or pigeons
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, coat or cote?
coat appears 23 times per million words; cote about once in every 1 million words.
coat 23 times per million wordscote about once in every 1 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search coat vs cote?
“coat vs cote” is searched about 20 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“cote vs coat”, “coat or cote”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.