coattail

noun

coat·​tail ˈkōt-ˌtāl How to pronounce coattail (audio)
1
: the rear flap of a man's coat
2
coattails plural : the skirts of a dress coat, cutaway, or frock coat
3
coattails plural : the influence or pulling power of a popular movement or person (such as a political candidate)
congressmen riding into office on the president's coattails

Examples of coattail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There’s also an argument that the rest of the Mountain West rode those coattails to a record number of NCAA Tournament bids. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2024 Where Robinson is a firebrand known for making controversial remarks, Stein is a career politician attempting to ride Cooper's popularity coattails. Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024 Hanging on the coattails of the anti-gum law in Singapore that made global headlines, Cleveland has a law prohibiting people from leaving chewing gum in public places. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 1 Mar. 2024 Many Influencer Program participants are also Amazon sellers, drop shippers and Kindle publishers looking to tap into the site’s massive audience of consumers and ride the tech behemoth’s coattails to wealth and glory. Caroline O'Donovan, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024 There are certainly worse coattails to ride than a great rivalry’s. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 With Florida governor Ron DeSantis and his down-ballot coattails being the notable exception, the Republican Party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterms was written off as blowback from the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs. Noah Rothman, National Review, 17 Jan. 2024 Sessa will have to hope his film’s hold over voters is strong enough to earn him some coattail attention. Vulture, 27 Oct. 2023 With coattails and top hats, there’s certainly fashion inspiration to be found in Wonka. Abby Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coattail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of coattail was circa 1600

Dictionary Entries Near coattail

Cite this Entry

“Coattail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coattail. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coattail

noun
coat·​tail ˈkōt-ˌtāl How to pronounce coattail (audio)
1
: the rear flap of a man's coat
2
plural : the influence of a popular movement or person
politicians riding into office on the president's coattails
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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