coterie
Americannoun
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a group of people who associate closely.
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an exclusive group; clique.
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a group of prairie dogs occupying a communal burrow.
noun
Synonym Usage
See circle.
Etymology
Origin of coterie
First recorded in 1730–40; from French, Middle French: “an association of tenant farmers,” from Medieval Latin coter(ius) cotter 2 + -ie -y 3
Explanation
Have you noticed how so many of the best TV shows concentrate on a group of friends who seem to mesh together perfectly, to the exclusion of all others? This, then, is a coterie, an exclusive group with common interests. The modern spelling and meaning of coterie developed in the 18th century from a French word rooted in the feudal system. When the farmers working the land of a feudal lord established an organization, they were called cotiers, or "tenants of a cote" (think "cottage"), and that idea of a select group led to the word coterie. There's just something so French about the idea of exclusivity, isn't there?
Vocabulary lists containing coterie
In Cold Blood
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The Fault in Our Stars
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Anna Karenina
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The baby products marketer Coterie this year told followers it wouldn’t use any AI-generated images in its social-media marketing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Her suite was also equipped with a hospital-grade bassinet and eco-friendly Coterie diapers.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2022
They are part of a female-centric communal housing project in downtown Los Angeles known as the Coterie, which is above the Palace Theatre and just as urban-French-Renaissance-meets-highly-curated-Goodwill as it sounds.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2021
A warm-hearted, woke-headed ensemble soap about Los Angeles millennials living in an “intentional community” called the Coterie, this spinoff of “The Fosters” satisfied even when it got woolly or cornball.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 4, 2019
"I don't know in German, but in English we say Secretary of the Cinderella Cotillion Coterie."
From Villa Elsa A Story of German Family Life by Henry, Stuart Oliver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
