tailwind

[ teyl-wind ]

/ ˈteɪlˌwɪnd /

noun

a wind coming from directly behind a moving object, especially an aircraft or other vehicle (opposed to headwind).

Nearby words

tails, tailskid, tailspin, tailstock, tailwater, tailwind, taimyr peninsula, tain, tainan, taine, taine, hippolyte adolphe

Origin of tailwind

First recorded in 1895–1900; tail¹ + wind¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tailwind

When Obama won Iowa in 2008, or Wisconsin, it felt like a presaging of November, like the candidate was riding a tailwind.
Michael Tomasky: No Rest for Romney After a Win in the Michigan Primary|Michael Tomasky|February 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Mitt Romney blew into South Carolina on a New Hampshire tailwind and a Republican field that could do no right.
South Carolina Primary: Mitt Romney’s Bad Night|Patricia Murphy|January 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for tailwind

tailwind

/ (ˈteɪlˌwɪnd) /

noun

a wind blowing in the same direction as the course of an aircraft or shipCompare headwind

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