coax
/koʊks/verb, noun, adjective
coax is spelled C-O-A-X: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, coax means “To wheedle or persuade (a person, organisation, animal etc.) gradually or by use of flattery to do something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in coax?
| Letters | 4: C-O-A-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,418th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is coax?
Coax appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce coax?
- UK /kəʊks/
- US /koʊks/
As a noun (“Clipping of coaxial cable”): /ˈkəʊæks/, /koʊæks/.
Coax has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-coax-verb.ogg, En-us-coax-noun.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with coax?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as coax from its last stressed vowel (/oʊks/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: coxa.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of coax
- coaxes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- coaxing participle, present
- coaxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does coax mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo fondle, kid, pet, tease.
- 2
To wheedle or persuade (a person, organisation, animal etc.) gradually or by use of flattery to do something.
12 July 2012, Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift On paper, Continental Drift boasts a jaw-dropping voice cast, including but not limited to Jennifer Lopez, Patrick Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Nicki
- 3
To carefully manipulate (someone or something) into a particular desired state, situation or position.
They coaxed the rope through the pipe.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA simpleton; a dupe.
- 2
Clipping of coaxial cable.
adjective
- 1
Clipping of coaxial.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Coax in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense persuade gradually:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cajoler, amadouer |
| German | überreden, schmeicheln, locken, ködern, beschwatzen, bezirzen |
| Portuguese | aliciar |
| Spanish | engatusar, coaccionar, coactar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does coax come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).