Definition of "coterie"
coterie
noun
plural coteries
A circle of people who associate with one another for a common purpose.
Quotations
Baskets of game had reached her house, but not a single line, in his own hand, had met her eye. Better it should be so: Georgiana was not yet in a state to "lure the gentle tassel back," but no thanks to the chattering coterie whom she had courted for the sole purpose of rendering the marquis reassured on the subject of proper acquaintance.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], page 27
In the case of a crack-smoking, prostitute-frequenting Mr. Sheen, many people in Hollywood say there is a long list of enablers: managers and agents and publicists; a coterie of assistants and party buddies; prostitutes, drug dealers and sex film stars; and the tabloid media, which have fed on Mr. Sheen’s antics for years.
2011 March 7, Brooks Barnes, Bill Carter, Michael Cieply, “Sheen Is Surrounded by a Coterie of Enablers”, in The New York Times
So the thought of closing the Academy is not based in malice; the action might prove enlightening and refreshing. The old club coterie has very little excuse, and its loss would leave few casualties.
2016 March 3, David Thomson, “Biggest lesson of the 2016 Oscars? The Academy should be scrapped”, in The Guardian