# tail

/ˈteɪɫ/ (US) · /tˈeɪl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/tail
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. animal anatomy

noun · CEFR A1

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

For teachers: 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.

### 2. back of a vehicle or object

noun · CEFR B1

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

For teachers: 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.

### 3. side of a coin

noun · CEFR B1

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

For teachers: 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.

### 4. a person following another

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

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

For teachers: 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.

### 5. comet feature

noun · CEFR B2

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

For teachers: 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.

### 6. body part

noun · CEFR B2 · American English · Informal

a person's bottom or backside.

For teachers: 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.

### 7. to follow someone

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

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

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- The dog wags its tail when it is happy.
- We stood at the tail of the queue, waiting for the bus to arrive.
- The comet's brilliant tail, a stream of dust and gas pushed by solar wind, stretched across the night sky for millions of kilometers.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.