coterie

noun

co·​te·​rie ˈkō-tə-(ˌ)rē 

ˌkō-tə-ˈrē

: an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose

a coterie of artists

a coterie of astronomers

Synonyms

• body
• bunch
• circle
• clan
• clique
• community
• coven
• crowd
• fold
• galère
• gang
• klatch
• klatsch
• lot
• network
• pack
• ring
• set

Examples of coterie in a Sentence

her coterie of fellow musicians

His films are admired by a small coterie of critics.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tiger’s investment team, which has historically included a coterie of Wharton School graduates, Goldman Sachs analysts, and alums of Silver Lake Partners, does much of its own road-mapping, modeling, and inquiry, and Tiger uses Bain & Co. to conduct external due diligence services. —Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2023

The latter is one of the poorest nations in the world; the former, buoyed by oil wealth, is among the richest per capita countries in Africa, though much of those riches are concentrated among a coterie of political and economic elites. —Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023

Inside, the eclectic coterie drank martinis and sampled Chef Doug Brixton’s delicacies. —Ian Malone, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2023

Within these walls the queen could take a break from her queenly duties, entertain her coterie of closest confidantes, and play with her children. —Leena Kim, Town & Country, 17 July 2023

Beyond Leo and his coterie, nobody knows how the money is being spent, or whether Seid put any restrictions on it. —Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023

While no one had built an atomic weapon before the Manhattan Project succeeded, the science of how to build one was relatively well known among the world’s small coterie of nuclear physicists. —Byjeremy Kahn, Fortune, 25 July 2023

During Paris Fashion Week, Osorio hosted a party to fete his new launch and, as to be expected, it was attended by a coterie of his inner celebrity circle, including Poppy Delevingne and Jessica Alba. —Stephanie Hirschmiller, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023

Whereas some prominent voices in tech took to Twitter for all-caps concern tweets, the memo was unsigned, but it was authored by a coterie of almost 50 leaders within and beyond the tech ecosystem. —Zach Everson, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "group of persons joined by a common interest," earlier, "group of peasants owing labor service or rent to a lord," going back to Middle French (Picard) "tenure of a free peasant," from cotier "peasant on a smallholding, cottar" + -erie -ery

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

coterie

noun

co·​te·​rie ˈkōt-ə-(ˌ)rē 

ˌkōt-ə-ˈrē

: a small close group of people with a shared interest