What does "tail" mean?

1. (animal anatomy) the part that sticks out from the back of an animal's body. 2. (back of a vehicle or object) the back or end part of something, like an airplane or a long line. 3. (side of a coin) the side of a coin that does not have a person's face on it. 4. (a person following another) someone who is secretly following another person to watch what they do. 5. (comet feature) the bright trail of dust and gas that follows a comet in space. 6. (body part) a person's bottom or backside. 7. (to follow someone) to follow someone closely and secretly to see where they go.

How do you use "tail"?

Usually used in the plural form 'tails' when referring to the side of the coin. This is a transitive verb and requires a direct object.

tail — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01animal anatomy

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. the part that sticks out from the back of an animal's body.

n. the caudal appendage of an animal, typically extending beyond the main torso near the posterior.

“The dog wagged its tail happily when its owner came home.”

“The lemur uses its long, ringed tail primarily for balance while leaping between the high branches of the rainforest canopy.”

Synonyms

rear appendage

Antonyms

head

02back of a vehicle or object

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. the back or end part of something, like an airplane or a long line.

n. the rear structure or terminal part of an object, such as the empennage of an aircraft or the end of a queue.

“The logo of the airline is painted clearly on the tail of the plane.”

“The investigators focused their search on the tail section of the wreckage, hoping to recover the flight data recorder located in the rear.”

Synonyms

rear end back

Antonyms

front nose

03side of a coin

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. the side of a coin that does not have a person's face on it.

n. the reverse side of a coin, typically featuring the denomination rather than a portrait.

“I flipped a coin and it landed on tails, so I had to wash the dishes.”

“In a fair coin toss, the probability of landing on tails is exactly fifty percent, regardless of previous outcomes.”

Usage

Usually used in the plural form 'tails' when referring to the side of the coin.

Synonyms

reverse

Antonyms

heads

04a person following another

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Informal

n. someone who is secretly following another person to watch what they do.

n. a person, often a private investigator or police officer, assigned to follow and observe a subject surreptitiously.

“The spy realized he had a tail and tried to get lost in the crowd.”

“The detective suspected that the suspect had spotted his tail, as the man began taking erratic turns through narrow side streets.”

Synonyms

shadow tracker

05comet feature

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Science

n. the bright trail of dust and gas that follows a comet in space.

n. the visible stream of gas and dust ejected from a comet's nucleus as it approaches the sun.

“The comet's tail was visible in the night sky for several weeks.”

“A comet's tail always points away from the sun due to the pressure of solar radiation and the solar wind.”

Synonyms

trail stream

06body part

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun American English · Informal

n. a person's bottom or backside.

n. the human buttocks or posterior region.

“He fell down on his tail while he was learning how to ice skate.”

“After the long hike, he was happy to finally sit down on his tail and rest by the campfire.”

Synonyms

bottom backside buttocks

07to follow someone

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal

v. to follow someone closely and secretly to see where they go.

v. to follow and observe a person or vehicle surreptitiously, typically for the purpose of surveillance.

“The police decided to tail the suspect to find out where the money was hidden.”

“Undercover agents were instructed to tail the vehicle from a safe distance to avoid detection while documenting every stop the driver made.”

Usage

This is a transitive verb and requires a direct object.

Synonyms

shadow track follow

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “tail” in context.

Verb

01. lose tail

“Lizards can lose their tail to escape from a predator.”

verb + noun

02. tail droops

“The horse's tail drooped when it became tired after the long journey.”

noun + verb

03. tail twitches

“The cat's tail twitched with excitement as it watched the bird.”

noun + verb

04. tuck tail

“The frightened puppy tucked its tail between its legs and ran away.”

verb + noun

05. wag tail

“The dog began to wag its tail as soon as its owner walked through the door.”

verb + noun

Adjective

06. bushy tail

“The squirrel has a very thick, bushy tail.”

adj + noun

07. long tail

“The monkey used its long tail to balance on the tree branch.”

adj + noun

08. stubby tail

“Some dog breeds are born with a very short, stubby tail.”

adj + noun

Noun

09. base of tail

“The vet examined the injury near the base of the dog's tail.”

noun + prep + noun

10. flick of tail

“With a quick flick of its tail, the fish disappeared into the deep water.”

noun + prep + noun

11. chase one's own tail

“The department is just chasing its own tail trying to fix these errors.”

12. heads or tails

“Let's flip a coin to decide; do you want heads or tails?”

From Middle English tail, tayl, teil, from Old English tæġl (“tail”), from Proto-West Germanic tagl, from Proto-Germanic taglą (“hair, fiber; hair of a tail”), from Proto-Indo-European doḱ- (“hair of the tail”), from Proto-Indo-European deḱ- (“to tear, fray, shred”). Cognate with Scots tail (“tail”), Saterland Frisian Tail (“tail, end”), West Frisian teil (“tail”), Dutch teil (“tail, haulm, blade”), Low German Tagel (“twisted scourge, whip of thongs and ropes; end of a rope”), German Zagel (“tail”), dialectal Danish tavl (“hair of the tail”), Swedish tagel (“hair of the tail, horsehair”), Norwegian tagl (“tail”), Icelandic tagl (“tail, horsetail, ponytail”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐌻 (tagl, “hair”). In some senses, apparently by a generalization of the usual opposition between head and tail.