coterie

noun

co·​te·​rie ˈkō-tə-(ˌ)rē How to pronounce coterie (audio)
ˌkō-tə-ˈrē
: an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose
a coterie of artists
a coterie of astronomers

Examples of coterie in a Sentence

her coterie of fellow musicians His films are admired by a small coterie of critics.
Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps Fallon, known for being one of the more garrulous among TV’s late-night coterie, has more to say. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024 And to be pedantic for a moment, plenty of contemporary Spider-Man movies and spin-offs have been released in the years since 2003, when this film is set, and none mentions the good Madame or her coterie of female sidekicks. David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2024 This coterie of Patty’s most intimate friends comes with unlimited Bundt-pan-borrowing privileges. Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 The video, released Friday in conjunction with the new album, sees Bad Bunny enjoy a life of fame and fortune, hanging out on a yacht with a coterie of young women, gambling, and at one point dining in the same restaurant as Pacino. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2023 The South of France has long drawn artists wishing to forge creative coteries away from urban centers. Nadia Beard, The New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2024 The coterie includes high society doyennes like Babe Paley, Slim Keith, Lee Radziwell, and C.Z. Guest, and the series follows them before, during, and after the fallout. Cady Lang, TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 In the Middle East, Iran and its coterie of proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and many others—are waging a bloody struggle for regional dominance against Israel, the Gulf monarchies, and the United States. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2024 That night, the former president and his usual coterie of top aides were joined by about a dozen Iowa staffers headed for New York, boarding the plane his campaign calls Trump Force One. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coterie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "group of persons joined by a common interest," earlier, "group of peasants owing labor service or rent to a lord," going back to Middle French (Picard) "tenure of a free peasant," from cotier "peasant on a smallholding, cottar" + -erie -ery

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of coterie was in 1738

Dictionary Entries Near coterie

Cite this Entry

“Coterie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coterie. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coterie

noun
co·​te·​rie ˈkōt-ə-(ˌ)rē How to pronounce coterie (audio)
ˌkōt-ə-ˈrē
: a small close group of people with a shared interest

More from Merriam-Webster on coterie

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!