coattail effect

noun

The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncoattail effect (plural coattail effects)

plural coattail effects

  1. The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election.

Origin

See ride the coattails.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

coattail effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coattail%20effect

MLA

“coattail effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coattail%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coattail effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coattail%20effect.

Source: coattail effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.