coattail

American  

[koht-teyl] / ˈkoʊtˌteɪl /

noun

1. the back of the skirt on a man's coat or jacket.

2. one of the two back parts of the skirt of a coat, especially one of the tails on a tailcoat.

---

adjective

1. gained by association with another, especially with a successful or celebrated person.

   coattail benefits.

idioms

1. on the coattails of, immediately after or as a result of.

   His decline in popularity followed on the coattails of the scandal.

2. on someone's coattails, aided by association with another person.

   The senator rode into office on the president's coattails.

Etymology

Origin of coattail

First recorded in 1590–1600; coat + tail ¹

Example Sentences

In a market where sometimes tenuous links spell big moves for stocks, the Super Bowl halftime performance from Bad Bunny failed to produce coattails.

From MarketWatch

The movie had to be made close enough to the album’s release that it could ride the coattails of the record’s popularity until the “Brat”-green wheels fell off.

From Salon

Presidents typically carry in on their coattails a bunch of their party’s candidates in marginal seats.

From The Wall Street Journal

Other IT consulting companies rode on the stock’s coattails Wednesday.

From Barron's

It is why Amorim felt United were in danger of blowing a significant chance to climb into the top six and on the coattails of the sides in contention for Champions League qualification.

From BBC