Tailgating

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of driving dangerously close behind another vehicle. uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    A tailgate party (social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle) uncountable, usually

    "On his first encounter with tailgating in 2006, he was flabbergasted at the way rival fans mixed peaceably together at the parties. A Chicago Bears fan, he was warmly welcomed into a group of Arizona Cardinals fans and fed. "I was shocked and slightly worried. I thought they were going to poison me. It was just so odd.""

  3. 3
    Inappropriately gaining entry into a restricted area, past a checkpoint, by tagging along behind another person who is authorized. uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    Synonym of front running. uncountable, usually
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of tailgate form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
front runningpiggybackingtailgate party

Example

More examples

"Tom kept tailgating the car in front of us even though I told him it was unsafe to do so."

Related phrases

tailgate party

More for "tailgating"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.