Tail Word Meaning

Old English tæg(e)l, from a Germanic base meaning ‘hair, hairy tail’; related to Middle Low German tagel ‘twisted whip, rope's end’. The early sense of the verb (early 16th century) was ‘fasten to the back of something’

the hindmost part of an animal, especially when prolonged beyond the rest of the body, such as the flexible extension of the backbone in a vertebrate, the feathers at the hind end of a bird, or a terminal appendage in an insect

hindmost part of animal

• the dog's tail began to wag frantically

a thing resembling an animal's tail in its shape or position, typically extending downwards or outwards at the end of something

thing resembling animal's tail in its shape or position

• the tail of a capital Q

the end of a long train or line of people or vehicles

end of long train or line of people or vehicles

• a catering truck at the tail of the convoy

a person secretly following another to observe their movements

person secretly following another to observe their movements

• I can't put a tail on him, I don't know where he's gone

a person's buttocks

person's buttocks

• the coach kicked Ryan in his tail

the side of a coin without the image of a head on it (used when tossing a coin to determine a winner)

side of coin without image of head on it

• the chances of heads and tails in the long run are equal

follow and observe (someone) closely, especially in secret

follow and observe someone closely

• a flock of paparazzi had tailed them all over London

provide with a tail

provide with tail

• her calligraphy was topped by banners of black ink and tailed like the haunches of fabulous beasts
• the eight main chapters are topped and tailed with an introduction and an epilogue

(of an object in flight) drift or curve in a particular direction

drift or curve in particular direction

• the next pitch tailed in on me at the last second

remove the stalks or ends of (fruit or vegetables) in preparation for cooking.

remove stalks or ends of fruit or vegetables in preparation for cooking

pull on the end of (a rope) after it has been wrapped round the drum of a winch a few times, in order to prevent slipping when the winch rotates.

pull on end of rope after it has been wrapped round drum of winch few times

join (one thing) to another.

join one thing to another