1
: a board or gate at the rear of a vehicle that can be removed or let down (as for loading)
2
[from the custom of seating trombonists at the rear of trucks carrying jazz bands in parades]
: a jazz trombone style marked by much use of slides to and from long sustained tones
3
US
: tailgate party
Nowadays, tailgates have evolved into mobile feasts: face-to-face social networks where complete strangers bond over food and drink, and everyone is eager to share.—
Greg Ferro
Greg Ferro
tailgated; tailgating
1
: to drive dangerously close behind another vehicle
2
US
: to have a tailgate party
: to drive dangerously close behind
tailgater
noun
US
: relating to or being a tailgate party
Examples of tailgate in a Sentence
Verb
He hit the car in front of him because he was tailgating.
They started tailgating at 10 o'clock.
Recent Examples on the Web
Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Don't speed or tailgate, Fines double for speeding in a Michigan work zone, so slow down.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 Oct. 2025
Passionate Milwaukee Brewers fans arrived hours early to tailgate for the National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
—Ricardo Torres, jsonline.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025
Of course feel free to cheer whenever your team has done something worth celebrating, but don’t boo the other team or obnoxiously heckle the opposing fans under the tailgate tent whenever their team falls short.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tailgate
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Noun
This classic Buffalo-style hot sauce, though born in New York, has become a staple in many of our favorite recipes, including tailgate’s crown jewel, Buffalo Chicken Dip.
—Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Don't speed or tailgate, Fines double for speeding in a Michigan work zone, so slow down.
—Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
John Robinson, a diehard Bengals fan and member of the Bengals Bomb Squad tailgate in Lot 1, proposed to his now fiancee and Steelers fan, Jennifer Longo, ahead of the primetime game.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 Oct. 2025
Passionate Milwaukee Brewers fans arrived hours early to tailgate for the National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
—Ricardo Torres, jsonline.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
The tailgate lift went up and down countless times over the next hour, loading 20 trunks that included everything from SDSU’s iconic football helmets, jerseys, pads and cleats to coach communications and video equipment to massage tables and the popup tent players go into when injured.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025
Of course feel free to cheer whenever your team has done something worth celebrating, but don’t boo the other team or obnoxiously heckle the opposing fans under the tailgate tent whenever their team falls short.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tailgate
Cite this Entry
“Tailgate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tailgate. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tailgate
1 of 2 noun
tail·gate
ˈtā(ə)l-ˌgāt 
: a panel at the back end of a vehicle (as a station wagon) that can be let down for loading and unloading
tailgate
2 of 2 verb
tailgated; tailgating
: to drive dangerously close behind another vehicle
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