tailwind

noun

tail·​wind ˈtāl-ˌwind 

plural tailwinds

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

Headwinds buffeted Sunday morning's field of nearly 10,000 runners in the first part of the Austin Marathon, but tailwinds in the late miles helped push Joseph Whelan and Kellyn Taylor to victories and course records. —Brom Hoban, Austin American Statesman, 15 Feb. 2026

Additional tailwinds include more promising macroeconomic catalysts, such as higher tax refunds set to flow. —Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026

All of this spending and building is a tailwind for stocks. —Jim Edwards, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026

In fact, the unexpectedly narrow deficit in Newsom’s 2026 budget was due to what California’s Legislative Analyst Office identified as a $42 billion tailwind created by a robust stock market, which led more Californians to earn more capital gains and pay more taxes on those earnings. —Lanhee J. Chen, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tailwind

• chagrined
• crosswind
• downwind
• rescind
• upwind
• whirlwind
• woodwind
• finned
• ginned
• grinned
• pinned
• sinned

Kids Definition

tail wind

noun

: a wind having the same general direction as the course of a moving object (as an aircraft)