wingman

wing·man | \ ˈwiŋ-mən

, -ˌman \

Definition of wingman

1a : a pilot who flies behind and outside the leader of a flying formation

b informal : a male friend or partner who accompanies and supports a man in some activity While guys find large groups of women intimidating, they think just a few together is the most inviting. If you hang out with a couple of friends, a guy would be able to approach you with a couple of his friends (i.e., wingmen), which would take the pressure off. — Cosmopolitan

2 : winger

Examples of wingman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That’s when Pearl inherited a wingman by the name of Clay Tucker, who averaged nearly 18 points a game over his final two seasons from 2001-03. — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, "Isaac Okoro’s uncanny ability to get to the rim pivotal for Auburn," 29 Jan. 2020 Bitters are the stomach's wingman - its appetizer before a big meal, its comfort and helpmeet in the aftermath. — M. Carrie Allan, chicagotribune.com, "Overeating on Thanksgiving? Bitters can make it better.," 20 Nov. 2019 Tens of thousands flocked to Omaha this weekend for the experience of simply having some proximity to Buffett and Charlie Munger, his 95-year-old business wingman, and to celebrate their value-investing doctrine alongside like-minded folks. — Washington Post, "Where Is Berkshire Hathaway’s Next Generation of Investors?," 7 May 2019 Since 2017, mainly under the influence of Michael Gove, Johnson’s wingman during the referendum, the country has committed itself to an ambitious environmental agenda. — Sam Knight, The New Yorker, "What Will Brexit Britain Be Like?," 31 Jan. 2020 This poisonous atmosphere of majoritarian flexing has transformed Congress from a co-equal branch to either the wingman or the executioner of the president. — Edward Morrissey, TheWeek, "The impeachment rules fight is another blowup in the slow destruction of Congress," 22 Jan. 2020 Crawford stars as wide-eyed Midwest transplant Stan, who agrees to play wingman to his calculating and privileged roommate Chad (Kevin Zegers). — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Chace Crawford says his new movie Nighthawks 'breaks some rules'," 4 Oct. 2019 In the past foreign regulators have followed the FAA’s lead, but a majority of Boeing’s sales are now made outside America and authorities abroad no longer want to play wingman to the FAA. — The Economist, "After the crashes Boeing’s misplaced strategy on the 737 MAX," 18 Dec. 2019 Pitch a Friend night was just one more example of how eager friends are to play the role of wingman for the Tinder era. — Terry Nguyen, Washington Post, "When your friends are so desperate to get you a date that they resort to PowerPoint," 27 June 2019

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