costa
costa — adjective
- costapositive
- more costacomparative
- most costasuperlative
1. The two-word capitalized phrase 'Costa Rican' used before a noun to say that som
The two-word capitalized phrase 'Costa Rican' used before a noun to say that something or someone is from the Central American country of Costa Rica. This entry describes the phrase — the standalone word 'costa' cannot function as an adjective.
Ryo and his family spent two weeks at a beautiful Costa Rican beach last summer.
Costa Rican + noun (attributive phrase)
The Costa Rican government built hydroelectric dams in Guanacaste to power homes and factories.
Mira ordered a bag of Costa Rican coffee beans from the local shop.
typical noun collocations: beach, government, coffee
Lakan wrote a report on Costa Rican wildlife for his geography class.
- Costa Rican coffee
- Costa Rican beach
- Costa Rican government
- Costa Rican citizen
- Costa Rican culture
Grammar Patterns
Costa Rican + noun
Usage Note
This entry documents the attributive use of the two-word phrase 'Costa Rican'. The standalone noun 'costa' (meaning 'rib') is a completely different word — it is not an adjective and cannot replace 'Costa Rican'. Always capitalize both words when writing the phrase.
Common Mistakes
costa — noun
- costasingular
- costasplural
1. The two-word capitalized phrase 'Costa Rican' when used as a countable noun to r
The two-word capitalized phrase 'Costa Rican' when used as a countable noun to refer to someone who was born in or is a citizen of the Central American country Costa Rica. This is a compound phrase — the standalone word 'costa' does not carry this demonym meaning.
Tamar is a Costa Rican who moved to Canada to study at university.
a + Costa Rican (countable singular noun phrase)
At Boruca's Fiesta de los Diablitos, Sumin watched Costa Ricans dance in carved wooden masks.
plural: Costa Ricans
Ignacio works with several Costa Ricans at the international bank downtown.
Many Costa Ricans are proud their country abolished its army in 1948 to fund public schools.
Putri's neighbour is a Costa Rican who grew up near the Arenal Volcano.
neighbour is a Costa Rican (predicate noun phrase)
- a Costa Rican
- the Costa Ricans
- Costa Rican-born
- native Costa Rican
Grammar Patterns
a Costa Rican
the Costa Ricans
Usage Note
This entry describes the noun use of the two-word phrase 'Costa Rican' (capital C and capital R). Unlike the anatomical noun 'costa' (rib), this is always a two-word compound. In informal conversation, speakers sometimes shorten the demonym to 'Tico' (masculine) or 'Tica' (feminine), but these are colloquial and not standard in formal writing.
Common Mistakes
2. a rib-shaped bone, vein, or ridge inside a living organism that gives structural
a rib-shaped bone, vein, or ridge inside a living organism that gives structural support — common in human chest anatomy, leaf botany, and insect-wing entomology.
The doctor examined Yara's X-ray and found a small fracture in her right costa.
costa = rib in human anatomy
David observed the costa of a maple leaf under the microscope during biology class.
costa = midrib of a leaf (botany)
Folake used a magnifying lens to trace the dark costa along a damselfly's wing.
costa = thick front vein of insect wing (entomology)
Dr. Okonkwo told Kabir the X-ray showed a fractured costa that would heal in six weeks.
costa in human anatomy: connects spine to sternum
Hoa identified the fossil as a magnolia leaf from the Eocene by the pattern of its costae and veins.
plural costae in paleobotany
- the costa of the leaf
- the left costa
- fractured costa
- costae (plural)
- costa of the wing
- rib
everyday English term for the human/animal chest bone; 'costa' is the formal anatomical name
- midrib
botany term for the central vein of a leaf
- costal vein
entomology term for the thick vein along the front edge of an insect wing
Grammar Patterns
the costa of [body part / leaf / wing]
plural costae
Usage Note
This is a technical term used mainly in medicine, biology, botany, and entomology. In everyday English, people say 'rib' instead of 'costa'. The Latin plural 'costae' is used in scientific writing. Do not confuse this word with 'Costa Rican' (the two-word demonym phrase listed above) or with 'costa' as a misspelling of 'coast'.
Common Mistakes
Etymology
First known use
1565
1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1