Definition of "tailgate"

When they first attached tailgates to cars, we were hooked. By the 1970s, wagons with names like Vista Cruiser and Town & Country sported tailgates as big as dining tables.

2007, Stephen Linn, The Ultimate Tailgater's Racing Guide‎

The website was created by Harry St. John, a former college athlete who wanted to take the agony out of managing tailgates.

2013 November 8, Nancy M. Better, “Tailgating Gets Online Playbooks”, in The New York Times‎

She also tailgated them at high speed in her convertible yellow Mercedes.

2002 October 19, Helen Carter, “That's no lady - that's the heiress who taunted neighbours”, in The Guardian‎

Last week the UK government announced a crackdown on unsafe driving. From now on, those of us spotted tailgating or lane hogging will face on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points.

2013 August 19, Chris Chambers, “Bad driving: what are we thinking?”, in The Guardian‎

An email circulated to ABC employees says Gallagher is believed to have tailgated staff walking through the building’s high-security doors.

2018 September 10, “ABC tightens Sydney security after man allegedly infiltrates building and assaults employee”, in The Guardian‎

The point, Goldstein discovered through a lot of long days hanging out in parking lots, is that tailgating — the gustatory madness, the multigenerational camaraderie, the decked-out vans — is as essential a part of football as the game itself.

2013 September 29, Ken Belson, “The Tailgate Experience, British Style”, in The New York Times‎