coats

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of coat.

   The painters applied two coats of primer before the final color.

   Heavy wool coats filled the closet through the cold months.

   Note

   A regular plural that counts very different things: garments hanging in a closet, layers of paint or primer, the fur or feathers of several animals. With paint the number matters, because two coats means two separate layers. The same spelling is also the verb's present-tense form (she coats the tray), so a number or determiner in front, as in two coats or the coats, marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of coat.

   The machine coats every tablet with a smooth protective shell.

   A fine layer of dust coats the furniture in the empty house.

   Note

   This form always takes an object, and its subject can be either side of the job. A person or machine coats a surface with something (she coats the pan with oil). The material itself can also be the subject and cover the surface directly, the way frost coats a window. The older meaning "clothes" survives only as an archaism and is best avoided in everyday writing.

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