definitions

coattail

[ koht-teyl ]
/ ˈkoʊtˌteɪl /
||

noun

the back of the skirt on a man's coat or jacket.
one of the two back parts of the skirt of a coat, especially one of the tails on a tail coat.

adjective

gained by association with another, especially with a successful or celebrated person: coattail benefits.

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Nearby words

coating, coatrack, coatroom, coats disease, coatsworth, coattail, coattail effect, coattails, coatzacoalcos, coauthor, coax

Idioms

    on someone's coattails, aided by association with another person: The senator rode into office on the president's coattails.
    on the coattails of, immediately after or as a result of: His decline in popularity followed on the coattails of the scandal.

Origin of coattail

First recorded in 1590–1600; coat + tail1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coat-tail

British Dictionary definitions for coat-tail

coat-tail

noun

the long tapering tails at the back of a man's tailed coat
on someone's coat-tails thanks to the popularity or success of someone else
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012