coattail

[koht-teyl]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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 tailcoat.

adjective

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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of coattail¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; coat + tail ¹

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

on the coattails of, immediately after or as a result of.
His decline in popularity followed on the coattails of the scandal.
on someone's coattails, aided by association with another person.
The senator rode into office on the president's coattails.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Court documents showed that Mondelēz International said Aldi uses similar packaging likely to "deceive" consumers and "ride the coattails" of the company's "attraction, fame and prestige".

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Nor are Christian conservatives merely riding the coattails of charlatans like Kennedy or the Means siblings.

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By 2016, these hotel gyms had now become boutiques to Kohli's fitness regime, and the rest of the team followed on his coattails.

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�� this shows is that for all of the GOP's swaggering braggadocio about their alleged landslide, Trump's win was razor thin in Congress, indicating once more that he has no coattails.

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Some Democrats, however, are worried that Harris' money flood is overshadowing tepid fundraising by down-ballot candidates and committees focused on state legislative races, and it's unclear how long her coattails are.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Coatsworth coat-tail

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