tailwind

noun

tail·wind | \ ˈtāl-ˌwind

plural tailwinds

Definition of tailwind

1 : a wind having the same general direction as a course of movement (as of an aircraft)

2 : a force or influence that advances progress toward an improved condition … the strengthening housing market should be providing tailwinds for home improvement retailers.— Katherine Peralta Medicare reform is a thorny problem even when the political tailwinds are favorable.— Russ Wiles

Examples of tailwind in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The tailwind carried the plane through Greenland and Scandinavian airspace, allowing the airbus to reach the tarmac just 11 minutes behind schedule, despite the meandering route. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "A Turkish Airlines Flight Flew an Extra 800 Miles and Still Landed on Time," 23 Oct. 2018 Belden initially thought the diamond pattern arises because each rider is trying to gain an aerodynamic advantage by catching the tailwinds of other nearby riders. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "What we can learn about crowd behavior by watching the Tour de France," 19 Nov. 2018 The ever-merry flight attendants wish us good morning, and share the news: thanks to a strong tailwind, the flight is ahead of schedule. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "What It’s Like to Take the Longest Flight in the World," 26 Oct. 2018

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