Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: cokes 'stupid person' (16-17 centuries)

coax

 verb
     
coax [transitive]
1 to persuade someone to do something that they do not want to do by talking to them in a kind, gentle, and patient way:
'Please, Vic, come with us,' Nancy coaxed.
coax somebody into/out of (doing) something
We had to coax Alan into going to school.
coax somebody to do something
We watched the bear coax its cubs to enter the water.
coax somebody down/out/back etc
Firefighters managed to coax the man down from the roof.
2 to make something such as a machine do something by dealing with it in a slow, patient, and careful way
coax something out of/from/into etc something
He coaxed a fire out of some dry grass and twigs.
The driver coaxed his bus through the snow.
—coaxing noun [uncountable]
She needs a bit of gentle coaxing.
—coaxingly adverb

coax something out of/from somebody

phrasal verb
to persuade someone to tell you something or give you something:
I managed to coax some money out of Dad.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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