tail

1 of 4

noun (1)

often attributive
1
: the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal
2
: something resembling an animal's tail in shape or position: such as
a
: a luminous stream of particles, gases, or ions extending from a comet especially in the antisolar direction
b
: the rear part of an airplane consisting usually of horizontal and vertical stabilizing surfaces with attached control surfaces
3
: the reverse of a coin
usually used in plural
tails, I win
4
tails plural
a
b
: full evening dress for men
5
: a location immediately or not far behind
had a posse on his tail
6
: one (such as a detective) who follows or keeps watch on someone
7
a
b
slang, vulgar : sexual intercourse
8
9
: the back, last, lower, or inferior part of something
10
: tailing sense 1
usually used in plural
11
: the blank space at the bottom of a page
tailed adjective
tailless adjective
taillike adjective

tail

2 of 4

verb

tailed; tailing; tails

transitive verb

1
: to follow for purposes of surveillance
2
: to connect end to end
3
a
: to remove the tail of (an animal) : dock entry 3
b
: to remove the stem or bottom part of
topping and tailing gooseberries
4
a
: to make or furnish with a tail
b
: to follow or be drawn behind like a tail

intransitive verb

1
: to form or move in a straggling line
2
: to grow progressively smaller, fainter, or more scattered : abate
usually used with off
productivity is tailing offTom Nicholson
3
: to swing or lie with the stern in a named direction
used of a ship at anchor
4
tailer noun

tail

3 of 4

noun (2)

tail

4 of 4

adjective

: limited as to tenure : entailed

Examples of tail in a Sentence

Verb The police had been tailing the suspect for several miles. She is constantly tailed by the press. The pitch tailed away from the batter.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Separately, an eagle-eyed amateur paleontologist out for a stroll with his dog happened to spot an exposed bone that led to the discovery of a nearly complete titanosaur skeleton connected from skull to tail. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024 The team will perform a necropsy Monday on the whale, splitting the animal from mouth to tail and taking samples to determine its cause of death. USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 His candidacy has been a long shot, tailing far behind the leaders in the race: former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Galen Bacharier, USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024 Both are predominantly black and white from bill to tail and can be difficult to tell apart, particularly in flight. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Feb. 2024 Leave the head and tail on, for flavor as well as aesthetics. Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 Swimming at around 5 feet from snout to tail, the shark’s build was similar to that of the smallest white sharks on record and was consistent with what researchers would anticipate of a newborn. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024 One of the ongoing questions in the wake of the Sunday attack, in which U.S. officials say the militia’s drone eluded U.S. air defenses by tailing a U.S. drone, is the extent to which these deployments of U.S. forces will continue. Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Jan. 2024 On Instagram, a video of the orcas tailing Kriz’s boat showed two of them tidily detaching both rudders. Rachel Riederer, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2023
Noun
Ropes wrapped around whales’ bodies, flippers or tails can cut into the animals’ skin and become deeply embedded in their flesh, as happened to whale #5120. Joshua Reed, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2024 Be sure to look for ticks around the tail, ear and eyelids, and under the front legs, back legs and between the toes. Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024 Gosling was joined by Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa and more of the Kens from the Barbie film, who took the stage alongside their onscreen leader, donning suits with tails and top hats. Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Taylor is the latest to make a case for the whale tail. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024 The team found evidence of footprints and tail drags left by these early anthropods, said Davies. Jack Guy, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Their powerful legs aren’t just for kicking at each other during play fights — paired with their strong tails, kangaroos can hop about 35 miles per hour, the organization said. Makiya Seminera, Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024 After this evolutionary split, apes evolved the formation of fewer tail vertebrae. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024 The existence of lizard-like animals at the time is also supported by the discovery of trace fossils, like reptile tracks and drag marks left behind by the tail in soft mud. David Bressan, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tail.' 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

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English tægel; akin to Old High German zagal tail, Middle Irish dúal lock of hair

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from tailler

Adjective

Middle English taille, from Anglo-French taylé, past participle of tailler to cut, limit — more at tailor

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1523, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tail was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near tail

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

tail

1 of 3 noun
1
: the rear end or a lengthened growth from the rear end of the body of an animal
2
: something resembling an animal's tail
the tail of a kite
the tail of a comet
3
plural : full evening dress for men
4
: the back, last, lower, or rear part of something
the tail of an airplane
5
: the reverse of a coin
6
: one (as a detective) who follows or keeps watch on someone
7
: a location not far behind
a posse on the outlaw's tail
tailed adjective
tailless adjective
taillike adjective

tail

2 of 3 adjective
: being at or coming from the rear

tail

3 of 3 verb
1
: to make or furnish with a tail
2
a
: to follow or be drawn behind like a tail
b
: to follow closely to observe : shadow
tailer noun

Medical Definition

tail

noun
often attributive
1
: the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal
2
: one end of a molecule regarded as opposite to the head
especially : the end of a lipid molecule that consists of a nonpolar hydrocarbon chain and is opposite to the polar group
most surface-active agents have a long hydrophobic tail attached to a polar head R. E. Kirk & D. F. Othmer
3
: any of various parts of bodily structures that are terminal: as
a
: the distal tendon of a muscle
b
: the slender left end of the human pancreas
c
: the common convoluted tube that forms the lower part of the epididymis
4
: the motile part of a sperm that extends from the middle piece to the end and comprises the flagellum
5
: a thin protein tube which forms part of the coat of some bacteriophages and through which DNA is injected into a cell
tailed adjective
tailless adjective

Legal Definition

tail

1 of 2 noun
1
: the condition of being limited or restricted by entailing
a tenant in tail
2

tail

2 of 2 adjective
: limited as to tenure see also fee tail at fee sense 1
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French, literally, cutting, from Old French, from taillier to cut, prune

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