coca

IPA/ˈkəʊkə/
KK[kˈokə]IPA/ˈkəʊkə/

coca — noun

1. a small evergreen shrub native to the mountain regions of western South America,

1.nounC1
Definition

a small evergreen shrub native to the mountain regions of western South America, whose leaves are the natural source of the stimulant drug cocaine.

Example

Felipe pointed to a row of coca growing on the steep terraces above the village.

noun + verb: 'coca growing' (uncountable)

Wild coca thrives in the warm, humid valleys on the eastern side of the Andes.

subject + thrives in + place: typical habitat description

Common collocations
  • coca plant
  • coca bush
  • wild coca
  • grow coca
  • coca field
Synonyms
  • coca plant

    fuller form, often used to remove ambiguity with the drug

  • Erythroxylum

    scientific genus name, used in botany texts

Usage Note

Refers to the plant itself, not to the drug derived from it. For the drug, use 'cocaine'. Often used as a modifier: 'coca leaf', 'coca farmer', 'coca field'.

Common Mistakes

The police seized two kilos of coca from the truck.
The police seized two kilos of cocaine from the truck.
'coca' is the bush; the processed drug is 'cocaine'.
I drank a cold coca with lunch.
I drank a cold Coke with lunch.
the soft drink is 'Coca-Cola' or 'Coke', not 'coca'.

2. leaves harvested and dried from the coca shrub, traditionally chewed by people i

2.nounC1
Definition

leaves harvested and dried from the coca shrub, traditionally chewed by people in the Andes or brewed as tea to reduce hunger, tiredness, and altitude sickness.

Example

Lan was offered a small bag of coca to chew during her hike up the mountain.

chew coca: traditional use

Hotels in Cusco serve hot tea made from coca to help guests cope with the thin air.

tea made from coca: preparation method

Common collocations
  • chew coca
  • coca tea
  • bag of coca
  • pouch of coca
Synonyms
  • coca leaves

    more explicit and far more common in everyday English

  • coca leaf

    singular form, used when referring to one leaf at a time

Usage Note

Typically uncountable when referring to the chewed or brewed leaves: 'a bag of coca', 'cup of coca tea'. Distinguish from sense 1 by context: a growing plant vs the harvested, dried leaves used for chewing or brewing.

Common Mistakes

She drank three cocas at breakfast.
She drank three cups of coca tea at breakfast.
uncountable in the leaves sense; you need 'cup of' or similar.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four are easy to confuse because they all involve plants whose leaves or beans are processed into something people consume. 'Coca' is a South American shrub whose leaves are mildly stimulating; chewing the dried leaves has been a traditional Andean practice for centuries. 'Cocaine' is the strong, illegal drug refined from coca leaves through chemical processing — a coca leaf in your tea is legal in Peru, but cocaine is a controlled substance worldwide. 'Coffee' and 'tobacco' are different plants entirely, but they belong to the same broader family of stimulant crops grown for their leaves or beans. When writing or speaking, keep 'coca' for the plant or its dried leaves, and use 'cocaine' only for the processed drug.

coca ↗cocaine ↗coffee ↗tobacco ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • coca leaf
  • coca plant
  • coca farmer
  • coca field
  • coca tea

Phrases

  • chew coca
  • grow coca
  • harvest coca

Prepositions

  • from coca
  • of coca

Etymology

QuechuaSpanishEnglish

Borrowed into English in the early 1600s from Spanish 'coca', which itself came from Quechua 'kuka' or 'cuca', the indigenous Andean name for the plant and its leaves. Spanish writers picked up the word from local people during the colonisation of Peru and Bolivia.