coattail

noun

coat·tail ˈkōt-ˌtāl

: the rear flap of a man's coat

coattails plural : the skirts of a dress coat, cutaway, or frock coat

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 Venmo Transactions In the early 2010s, as smartphones became popular, Venmo rode the coattails of companies like Facebook and Twitter, which brought the concept of a public timeline into the mainstream. —

Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2023 Rinks thrived with the disco boom, birthing Roller Disco, and rode the coattails of hip-hop’s rise. —

Amanda Alcántara, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 July 2023 But these stories largely dismiss Suits as a forgettable show riding on Markle's fashionable coattails. —

Time, 11 Aug. 2023 The stock market remains the simplest way to build wealth over the long term by riding the coattails of the biggest and best companies in the world. —

Ben Carlson, Fortune, 13 July 2023 The legal principle behind a more restrained Supreme Court term In a previous generation, politics in the military used to take the form of officials riding the armed forces’ coattails, says Risa Brooks, a professor who studies civilian-military politics at Marquette University. —

Noah Robertson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 July 2023 The innovative Detroit social club with the same name would enjoy a longer cultural coattail. —

Wendy S. Walters, Harper's BAZAAR, 11 July 2023 Her eight-point win in November, may have come in part thanks to the coattails of Ron DeSantis’ gubernatorial bid, says Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a freshman Democrat from South Florida who worked in the DeSantis administration and has a collegial relationship with Luna. —

Eric Cortellessa, Time, 10 July 2023 Some, such as Germany, have boosted their military spending after years of riding on American coattails. —

Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2022 See More

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.