tail¹ /tāl/

1. The posterior extremity of an animal, usu a slender prolongation beyond the anus
2. A bird's train of feathers
3. A fish's caudal fin
4. Anything of similar appearance, position, etc
5. The back, lower, rear, latter, downstream, weaker or inferior part or prolongation of anything, often opp to head
6. The rear, stabilizing part of an aircraft, incl tailplane, fin and control surfaces, or of a rocket, missile, etc
7. The stem of a note in written music
8. A downward extension of a letter
9. A retinue, suite
10. A queue
11. A train
12. Anything long and trailing or hanging, such as a catkin, the luminous train of a comet or long curl or braid of hair
13. (usu in pl) the reverse of a coin
14. (in pl) the depleted uranium produced during enrichment (nuclear eng)
15. The end of a shoal sloping into deeper water
16. The weaker batsmen at the end of a team's batting order (cricket)
17. (often in pl) the skirts of a garment (old)
18. (in pl) a tail coat
19. (in pl) evening dress, incl a tail coat
20. In Turkey, a horse-tail, formerly a mark of rank
21. A person engaged to follow and keep a constant watch on someone (informal)
22. The route or course taken by someone running away (informal)
23. The margin at the bottom of the page, or the bottom edge of the page (printing)
24. The buttocks, backside (informal)
25. The female genitalia or the penis (slang)
26. Sexual intercourse (slang)
27. A woman (offensive sl)

1. To provide with a tail
2. To be a tail to
3. To remove the tail or stalk from
4. To grip or drag by the tail
5. To join end to end
6. To insert or incorporate the end of (a tile, brick, timber, etc) into a wall or other support
7. To herd (Aust)
8. To follow closely, shadow

1. To taper (often with off or away)
2. To lessen or deteriorate slowly (with off or away)
3. To straggle
4. To show the tail

tailed adjective

1. Having a tail (of a specific kind)
2. With the tail removed

tailˈing noun

1. The inner covered end of a projecting brick or stone in a wall (building)
2. A winter sport in which a tail-like string of luges is drawn along by a horse-sleigh
3. (in pl) refuse, dregs
4. (in pl) the rejected or washed away portion of an ore (mining)
5. (in pl) poor quality grain or flour
6. (in pl) the higher boiling fraction in a distillation process

tailˈless adjective

Having no tail

tailˈ-like adjective

tailˈback noun

1. A line of traffic stretching back from anything obstructing or slowing down traffic flow
2. The running back positioned furthest away from the line of scrimmage (American football)

tailˈboard noun

A movable board at the back of a cart, wagon or lorry

tailˈbone noun

The coccyx

tail boom noun

A longitudinal strut supporting the tail of an aeroplane

tail coat noun

A man's formal coat, cut away at the front and with narrow tails at the back

tail covert noun

Any of a bird's covert feathers covering the base of its tail feathers

tail end noun

1. The fag end, final and/or inferior part
2. (in pl) inferior corn sorted out from better
3. Something that comes at the end

tail-end Charlie noun (informal)

A person who comes at the end

tail-enˈder noun (informal)

Someone or something coming at the end

tail feather noun

1. One of the rectrices or stiff rudder-feathers of a bird's tail, used in steering
2. A feather on a bird's back forming a train, as in the peacock

tail fly noun (angling)

The fly at the end of the leader

tailˈgate noun

1. Lower gate of a lock
2. A tailboard (N American)
3. A door at the back of a car that opens upwards on hinges at its top edge
4. A jazz style of playing esp the trombone

transitive verb and intransitive verb (slang)

To drive dangerously close behind (another vehicle)

To picnic around the boot of one's car, esp outside a stadium before a sports match

tailˈgater noun

A person who tailgates

tail lamp or tail light noun (esp N American)

A usu red light carried at the back of a train, tram, car or other vehicle

tailˈpiece noun

1. A piece at the tail or end
2. An engraving, design, etc occupying the bottom of a page, eg at the end of a chapter
3. A strip of ebony, etc to which the ends of the strings are attached in a fiddle

tailˈpipe noun

1. The exhaust pipe of a car (orig US)
2. The suction-pipe in a pump

transitive verb

To tie a tin can or similar object to the tail of (a dog) to frighten or annoy it (the precise force of ‘pipe’ being unknown)

tailˈplane noun

A horizontal aerofoil on the tail of an aircraft

tailˈrace noun

The channel in which water runs away below a millwheel, or from a hydraulically-operated machine, etc

tail rhyme or tailed rhyme noun

A verse form in which two or more rhymed lines are followed by a shorter line that does not rhyme with the others

tail rope noun

A rope attached to the rear part of anything

tail rotor noun

(on a helicopter) a small rear propeller designed to counteract the torque of the main rotor

tailˈskid noun

1. A support under the tail of an aeroplane on the ground
2. (in a motor vehicle) a skid starting with the rear wheels

tailˈspin noun

1. A spiral dive of an aeroplane
2. An uncontrolled downward spiral
3. A state of panic or frenzy (informal)

tailˈstock noun

A slidable casting mounted on a lathe, aligned with the headstock, used to support the free end of the piece being worked on

tailˈwheel noun

A wheel at the rear of a vehicle, esp that under the rear end of an aircraft

tail wind noun

A wind blowing in the same direction as one is travelling in

a bit (or piece) of tail (offensive sl)

A woman

not make head or tail of

To make no sense of

on someone's tail

Following someone very closely

tail off

To become gradually less or fewer

tail of the eye

1. The outer corner of the eye
2. The margin of the field of vision

• satirisation
• satirise
• satirised
• satirises
• satirising
• satirist
• satirists
• satirization
• satirize
• satirized
• satirizes
• satirizing
• satis
• satisfaction
• satisfactions
• satisfaction theory
• satisfactorily
• satisfactoriness
• satisfactory
• satisfiable
• satisfice
• satisficed
• satisfices
• satisficing
• satisficings