1
: the rear flap of a man's coat
2
coattails plural
: the skirts of a dress coat, cutaway, or frock coat
3
coattails plural
: the influence or pulling power of a popular movement or person (such as a political candidate)
congressmen riding into office on the president's coattails
Examples of coattail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Right now the Trump administration is riding on the coattails of the Biden Administration’s strong economy, which averaged about 3.6% GDP growth from 2021 through 2024.
—
Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
But the promotion of the episode is certainly riding the coattails of the drama, which has been dominating headlines since Lively’s initial complaint.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2025
The panels of another exquisite object, an East Asian–style folding screen, featured paintings of Orthodox Jewish men whose coattails flip outward like birds’ tails.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024
Was my TikTok shop version a dupe of a dupe, a knock-off attempting to ride the coattails of the viral product?
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coattail
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Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
But the promotion of the episode is certainly riding the coattails of the drama, which has been dominating headlines since Lively’s initial complaint.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 8 Feb. 2025
The panels of another exquisite object, an East Asian–style folding screen, featured paintings of Orthodox Jewish men whose coattails flip outward like birds’ tails.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024
Was my TikTok shop version a dupe of a dupe, a knock-off attempting to ride the coattails of the viral product?
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coattail
Cite this Entry
“Coattail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coattail. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coattail
noun
coat·tail
ˈkōt-ˌtāl 
1
: the rear flap of a man's coat
2
plural
: the influence of a popular movement or person
politicians riding into office on the president's coattails
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