coattail

[ koht-teyl ]

See synonyms for: coattails on Thesaurus.com

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.

Idioms about coattail

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. 2023

How to use coattail in a sentence

Depositing her tenderly upon a pile of hot bricks, he mopped his steaming front with his warm coat-tail.
The Fiend's Delight | Dod Grile
He sits wi' little ease wha sits on his neighbour's coat tail.
The Proverbs of Scotland | Alexander Hislop
I carried five messages to one fellow with a coat-tail straight to his heels, last week.
Evan Harrington, Complete | George Meredith
Then he again uttered an exclamation, for a bounding cannon ball—ricochetting from the deck—took off the end of his coat-tail.
Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea | Charles H. L. Johnston
I had sold two dozen at fifty cents apiece when I felt somebody pull my coat tail.
The Gentle Grafter | O. Henry

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

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