coaches

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of coach.

   The school hired three new coaches to lead its athletic programs.

   Long-distance coaches depart from the central station every hour.

   Note

   A plural that gathers very different things under one spelling: horse-drawn carriages, railway passenger cars, long-distance or hired buses, and the people who train others. Context does the sorting. In British and Australian use, coaches at a station can be buses or rail cars, while the trainers' sense is shared everywhere. The -es ending follows the final -ch, as in churches and benches.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of coach.

   The retired athlete now coaches young gymnasts at the local center.

   Our manager coaches each team member individually before performance reviews.

   Note

   Training is the everyday meaning, and it runs both with and without an object. In "she coaches the under-twelves" there is an object, and in "he coaches at the local club" there is none. The verb also keeps a travel side: to journey by coach, sometimes in the idiom coach it, or to carry someone in one.

   He coaches at the local swimming club on weekends.

   She dislikes flying, so she coaches it across the country instead.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2