tail coat

or tailcoat

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noun

a man's fitted coat, cut away over the hips and descending in a pair of tapering skirts behind, usually black and worn as part of full evening dress.

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Also called tails, dress coat, swallow-tailed coat.

Origin of tail coat

First recorded in 1840–50

Words nearby tail coat

tailback, tailband, tail between one's legs, with one's, tailboard, tailbone, tail coat, tail cone, tail covert, tailed, tailed frog, tail end

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tail coat in a sentence

He wore white gloves, a dignified long black coat, and matching pants and vest, and he carried a dark walking stick.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Place the thinly sliced shallots in a medium bowl and pour buttermilk over to coat.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The young man had the presence of mind to tail Gaylard Williams out of the park and jot down his license plate.
Exposed: The Gay-Bashing Pastor’s Same-Sex Assault|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The man finally manages to break free with the help of the others, slipping out of his coat.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Micah is 10 years old and he had a coat geared to the season, a Patagonia winter jacket with a hood.
The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric Garner|Mike Barnicle|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is rather tall and narrow, and wears a long abb's coat reaching nearly down to his feet.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
You don't mind staying here in the sunshine, I hope, while my coat dries?
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Presently he began to shiver so, with some sort of a chill, that I took off my coat and wrapped it round him.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
He scratched his head in vexation, sat down, and as he did so, saw that his coat hung also upon the chair.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The dog stood with hanging head and tail, as if ashamed he had let so many of his enemies get away unharmed.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for tail coat

tail coat

noun

Also called: tails a man's black coat having a horizontal cut over the hips and a tapering tail with a vertical slit up to the waist: worn as part of full evening dress

Also called: swallow-tailed coat another name for morning coat

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