coattail

noun

coat·tail | \ ˈkōt-ˌtāl

Definition of coattail

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

Bolze, whose team at Power had stretched so far in hopes of riding his coattails, was out. — Thomas Gryta And Ted Mann, WSJ, "GE Powered the American Century—Then It Burned Out," 14 Dec. 2018 Christina Animashaun/Vox Does President Donald Trump have electoral coattails? — Jane Coaston, Vox, "How Trump’s favored midterm candidates performed," 7 Nov. 2018 Photo: Getty Senate Democrats—and Mr. Menendez—are also banking on a rare case of reverse coattails, in which the energy around the House candidates will help them hold the Senate seat. — Julie Bykowicz, WSJ, "Down-Ballot Democrats Prop Up Menendez," 9 Oct. 2018 Picking the Mighty Ducks name in Anaheim to ride the marketing coattails of a Disney movie was easy. — Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, "What’s in a name? For Seattle’s future NHL team, more than meets the Sock-eye," 12 Aug. 2018 From there, the Bruins content to ride the coattails of one magical player and coast to a 7-3 win in Game 2 of the first round. — Tim Hackett, SI.com, "Stanley Cup Playoffs Roundup: Pastrnak, Bruins Blitz Maple Leafs for a 2-0 Series Lead," 15 Apr. 2018 One time, Just wrote, Hogan rode the coattails of a convention in Boise. — Katherine Jones, idahostatesman, "'Jimmy the Stiff,' Boise's infamous town drunk, gets a proper toast a century later," 1 June 2018 Maduro has tried to ride Chavez's coattails since narrowly winning the presidency in 2013, but his popularity is now vastly diminished. — Fox News, "Powerful, unpopular Venezuela leader faces opposition foes," 19 May 2018 There had been an open date after the Indy 500, and Texas rode its coattails as the race after. — Drew Davison, star-telegram, "Will IndyCar return to Texas Motor Speedway in 2019?," 12 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coattail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.