How to Use coax in a Sentence

coax

verb
Definition of coaxnext
Synonyms for coaxnext
  • She tried to coax a raise from her boss.
  • It took almost an hour to coax the cat down from the tree.
  • He coaxed the fire to burn by blowing on it.
  • He was unable to coax an answer out of her.
  • The plant is difficult to coax into bloom.
  • Use the tip of the knife to coax out the dark vein; discard.
    — Zoe Denenberg, Bon Appétit, 19 July 2023
  • People mined sand, caught fish and coaxed crops from the soil.
    — Peter S. Goodman Ulet Ifansasti, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Maybe the prospects of the Fighting Irish in the house one day will even coax ‘em in from the Boulevard.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 1 Sep. 2023
  • As drums pounded, the clowns coaxed Raba to the center.
    — Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Gio Paez and others coaxed Cole Snyder to throw the ball away and set up a punt.
    — Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Blood welled on the 64-year-old’s fingertip, and the nurse coaxed a droplet into a vial.
    — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2023
  • The Aztecs coaxed a miss at the other end, then Micah Parrish calmly launched a 3 from the top of the key.
    — Staff Reports, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2023
  • For the next several minutes, officers tried to coax him to stand and walk to the front of the house.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2023
  • The goal is to keep the celebration going, not coax them back to their seats.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Silas should look to coax that number closer to 50-plus catch-and-shoot triples in the second half.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 11 Jan. 2023
  • The group had a difficult task at hand: to coax a man fast asleep in a tent to come outside and talk.
    — Katherine Landergan, ajc, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Instead, Renaud coaxes Monk to the keyboard and asks him to play.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023
  • But Trine pitcher Alexis Michon coaxed two pop ups to end the threat.
    — Ndaschel, oregonlive, 3 June 2023
  • Common Kings, a band with Hawaiian roots, wooed the tired crowd, coaxing them out of their lawn chairs.
    — Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
  • Some animals need to be coaxed to step onto the scales or to stand up to be measured.
    — Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Aug. 2023
  • In one case, a firefighter had to smash through a window to coax a robotaxi to move out of the way.
    — Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2023
  • Phillips went full on Paumier on his first pitch, then coaxed a pop fly that ended the game.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 1 June 2023
  • Every once in a while, Agosto Machado can be coaxed back on stage.
    — Hugh Ryan, Curbed, 12 Sep. 2023
  • Haley vowed to continue her campaign and tried to coax Trump to the debate stage.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2024
  • In order to do so, surgeons have to coax the nerve fibers to grow to the right place, which Sahel says could take months or even years.
    — Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 9 Nov. 2023
  • For some people, coffee’s siren song is what coaxes them out of bed.
    — Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Food also comes in handy to help coax out performances.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Unplug the freezer, take out everything and use a hair dryer to coax the ice to melt faster.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2023
  • After a few seconds of coaxing, Deauville steps in and disappears from the frame.
    — Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2023
  • At times, panfish may be fussy and a live bait tipping option may be needed to coax strikes.
    — Jim Gronaw, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: