Definitions of tail [ɪl]

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Definition of 'tail'

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

1. (n.) tail
the hindmost part of an animal, esp. that forming a distinct, flexible appendage to the trunk.

2.  tail
something resembling or suggesting this in shape or position:
the tail of a kite.

3.  tail
the luminous stream extending from the head of a comet.

4.  tail
the rear portion of an airplane or the like.

5.  tail
tails,

6.  tail
the tapering skirts or ends at the back of a coat, esp. a tail coat.

7.  tail
men's full-dress attire.

8.  tail
Slang. the buttocks or rump.

9.  tail
a person who trails or keeps a close surveillance of another, as a detective or spy.

10.  tail
the trail of a fleeing person or animal.

11.  tail
Vulgar Slang.

12.  tail
sexual intercourse.

13.  tail
the hinder, bottom, or end part of something.

14.  tail
a final or concluding part; end.

15.  tail
the inferior or unwanted part of something.

16.  tail
a long braid or tress of hair.

17.  tail
a retinue; train.

18.  tail
the lower part of a pool or stream.

19.  tail
the exposed portion of a piece of roofing, as a slate.

20.  tail
the bottom part of a page or book.

21.  tail
the lower portion of a printer's type, as of g, y, or
Q.

22. (adj.) tail
coming from behind:
a tail breeze.

23.  tail
being in the back or rear:
a tail gun on an aircraft.

24. (v.t.) tail
to follow in order to hinder escape or to observe.

25.  tail
to form or furnish with a tail.

26.  tail
to form or constitute the tail or end of.

27.  tail
to join or attach (one thing) at the tail or end of another.

28.  tail
to fasten (a beam, stone, etc.) by one end (usu. fol. by in).

29.  tail
to dock the tail of (a horse, dog, etc.).

30. (v.i.) tail
to follow close behind; tag.

31.  tail
to disappear gradually or merge into.

32.  tail
to form or move in a line suggestive of a tail.

33.  tail
(of a boat) to have or take a position with the stern in a particular direction.

34.  tail
(of a beam, stone, etc.) to be fastened by one end (usu. fol. by in).

35.  tail
to run away from difficulty, opposition, etc.; flee.

36. (n.) tail
limitation of the passage of an estate; entail.

37. (adj.) tail
limited to a specified line of heirs; entailed.

Etymology: (1200–50; (n.) ME taille < OF, der. of taillier to cut < LL tāliāre (see tailor ))

Definition of 'tail'

Princeton's WordNet

1. (noun) tail
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body

2. (noun) fag end, tail, tail end
the time of the last part of something
"the fag end of this crisis-ridden century"; "the tail of the storm"

3. (noun) tail, tail end
any projection that resembles the tail of an animal

4. (noun) buttocks, nates, arse, butt, backside, bum, buns, can, fundament, hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, stern, seat, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush, bottom, behind, derriere, fanny, ass
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
"he deserves a good kick in the butt"; "are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?"

5. (noun) tail, shadow, shadower
a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements

6. (noun) tail
(usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head

7. (noun) tail, tail assembly, empennage
the rear part of an aircraft

8. (verb) stern, after part, quarter, poop, tail
the rear part of a ship

9. (verb) chase, chase after, trail, tail, tag, give chase, dog, go after, track
go after with the intent to catch
"The policeman chased the mugger down the alley"; "the dog chased the rabbit"

10. (verb) dock, tail, bob
remove or shorten the tail of an animal

11. (verb) tail
remove the stalk of fruits or berries

Definition of 'tail'

Kernerman English Learner’s Dictionary

1. (noun) tail
a long body part at the back of an animal
the alligator's tail; a dog wagging its tail

2. tail
the end of an airplane
The wings and tail were smashed.

3. tail
the tail (end) of sth
the part at the end of sth long
We were at the tail end of a long line of people.

Definition of 'tail'

Webster Dictionary

1. (adj) tail
limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed; as, estate tail

2. (noun) tail
limitation; abridgment

3. (noun) tail
the terminal, and usually flexible, posterior appendage of an animal

4. (noun) tail
any long, flexible terminal appendage; whatever resembles, in shape or position, the tail of an animal, as a catkin

5. (noun) tail
hence, the back, last, lower, or inferior part of anything, -- as opposed to the head, or the superior part

6. (noun) tail
a train or company of attendants; a retinue

7. (noun) tail
the side of a coin opposite to that which bears the head, effigy, or date; the reverse; -- rarely used except in the expression "heads or tails," employed when a coin is thrown up for the purpose of deciding some point by its fall

8. (noun) tail
the distal tendon of a muscle

9. (noun) tail
a downy or feathery appendage to certain achenes. It is formed of the permanent elongated style

10. (noun) tail
a portion of an incision, at its beginning or end, which does not go through the whole thickness of the skin, and is more painful than a complete incision; -- called also tailing

11. (noun) tail
one of the strips at the end of a bandage formed by splitting the bandage one or more times

12. (noun) tail
a rope spliced to the strap of a block, by which it may be lashed to anything

13. (noun) tail
the part of a note which runs perpendicularly upward or downward from the head; the stem

14. (noun) tail
same as Tailing, 4

15. (noun) tail
the bottom or lower portion of a member or part, as a slate or tile

16. (noun) tail
see Tailing, n., 5

17. (verb) tail
to follow or hang to, like a tail; to be attached closely to, as that which can not be evaded

18. (verb) tail
to pull or draw by the tail

19. (verb) tail
to hold by the end; -- said of a timber when it rests upon a wall or other support; -- with in or into

20. (verb) tail
to swing with the stern in a certain direction; -- said of a vessel at anchor; as, this vessel tails down stream

Translation of 'tail'

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

Sense: the part of an animal, bird or fish that sticks out behind the rest of its body The dog wagged its tail; A fish swims by moving its tail.
Afrikaans: stert	Arabic: ذَيْل، ذَنَب	Bulgarian: опашка
Brazilian: cauda	Czech: ocas	German: der Schwanz
Danish: hale	Greek: ουρά	Spanish: cola
Estonian: saba	Farsi: دم	Finnish: häntä
French: queue	Hebrew: זנב	Hindi: पूंछ
Croatian: rep	Hungarian: far(o)k	Indonesian: ekor
Icelandic: rófa, skott, hali, tagl,	Italian: coda	Japanese: 尾
Korean: 꼬리	Lithuanian: uodega	Latvian: aste
Malay: ekor	Dutch: staart	Norwegian: hale, stjert, svans
Polish: ogon	Portuguese: cauda	Romanian: coadă
Russian: хвост	Slovak: chvost	Slovenian: rep
Serbian: rep	Swedish: svans, stjärt	Thai: หาง (สัตว์)
Turkish: kuyruk	Taiwanese: 尾巴	Ukrainian: хвіст
Urdu: دُم، پونچھ	Vietnamese: đuôi	Chinese: 尾巴
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