Course and Coarse

The Quick Answer

What is the difference between course and coarse?

Coarse means rough or crude.
Most commonly, course means:

A series of educational lessons (e.g., a French course).
A direction (e.g., That's an odd course to take.)

There are more meanings for course below.

Coarse and Course

The words coarse and course sound identical, but their meanings are very different. The most common query regarding course and coarse relates to meals. Meals are made up of courses not coarses. For example:

A three-course meal

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Coarse

The adjective coarse means rough, crude, of low quality, or not fine in texture. For example:

coarse sand

coarse manners

Perch - a type of coarse fish (not as refined as trout or salmon, which are classified as game fish)

Course

The word course has many meanings. It can be an adjective, a noun, or a verb. Listed below are the meanings of course:

Education delivered in a series of lessons

I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. (Woody Allen)
English course

Also, the students who attend

You have been an excellent course.

A direction

A southerly course
The river changed course.

A series of events

The government took an unexpected course.
A course of action

To move (of liquids and ships)

The German ships coursed the Baltic.
The stream coursed through the peat bog.

Part of a meal

We're having a three-course meal. The first course is white bait or mussels.

To hunt with dogs

To course after hares.

Naturally

of course

Area of land (or water) for sport

Golf course
Skiing course

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