tail

TAYL/teɪl/

Pluraltails

Verbtails, tailing, tailed

33 meanings of tail

Practice

1
nouncountable
The part that sticks out from the back end of an animal's or bird's body.
Like a long handle that sticks out from the back of an animal.
The dog wagged its tail when it saw us at the door.
A cat uses its tail to keep its balance on a narrow fence.
2
nouncountable
The back or end part of something, or the last part of a time, event, or line of people.
Like the very back of a long line of people.
He stood at the tail of the line, hoping the wait would be short.
The slowest swimmers finished at the tail of the field.
UsagePeople often say the tail end of something.
Similarend, rear, back, bottom
Oppositehead, front, top
3
aircraft finsnouncountable
The back part of an airplane, with the fins that help steer it.
Like the feathers at the back of an arrow that keep it flying straight.
The plane's tail was painted bright red.
A bird strike damaged the small jet's tail on takeoff.
Similarempennage
Oppositenose
4
nouncountable
A part of something that is long and thin like an animal's tail.
Like the long thin part of the letter 'g' that hangs down.
The kite trailed a long ribbon tail behind it.
Her winter hat had a long knitted tail with a pom-pom at the end.
Note
5
coin sidenouncountableplural
The side of a coin that does not show a face or head.
Like the back of a photo: the side without the picture.
I called heads, but the coin landed on tails.
She flipped the coin and called tails.
UsageSay heads or tails before you flip a coin.
Similarreverse
Oppositehead, obverse
Note
6
verbtransitive
To follow someone closely, often secretly, to watch where they go and what they do.
Like quietly walking behind someone so they don't notice you.
Police decided to tail the suspect for a week.
Two agents tailed the courier through the crowded market.
UsageSay tail someone: the police tailed him.
Similarfollow, shadow, trail
Note
7
graph edgenouncountable
The far ends of a graph, where only a few values appear.
Like the thin ends of a hill that slope far away from the top.
Very tall people fall in the tail of the height chart.
Rare events show up in the tail of the graph.
UsageA graph can have long or thin tails.
Note

Less common meanings

8
nouncountable
A person who secretly follows someone to watch them.
Like a shadow that follows a person around secretly.
The spy realized a tail was following him through the station.
She lost the tail by ducking into a crowded shop.
UsageYou can spot a tail or shake off a tail.
Similarshadow
9
comet trailnouncountable
The long, bright stream of dust and gas that trails behind a comet.
Like the trail of smoke streaming behind a moving rocket.
The comet's tail stretched across the whole night sky.
You could see the comet's tail without a telescope.
Note
10
backsidenouncolloquialUScountable
A casual word for a person's bottom or behind.
He slipped on the ice and landed hard on his tail.
Get your tail out of bed, or you'll be late for school!
UsageOften in work your tail off, which means work very hard.
Similarbutt, backside, behind, rear, bottom
Note
11
formal coatnouncountable
A man's formal coat with a long back split into two flaps, worn at very dressy events.
All the men at the ball wore black tails and white ties.
Waiters in tails carried trays through the ballroom.
UsagePeople say wear tails. You can also say tailcoat.
Similartailcoat
12
sexnounslangvulgaruncountable
A slang word for having sex.
The sailors went ashore looking for tail.
He bragged about getting some tail on his trip.
UsagePeople say chase tail or get some tail.
Similarsex, intercourse, copulation, coitus
Note
13
letter strokenouncountable
The part of a letter like g, y, or q that hangs down below the line.
Like the bottom hook of a candy cane, dipping below where the rest of the letter sits.
The tail of a lowercase g curls below the line.
Children often forget to add the tail when writing the letter y.
Similardescender
Note
14
last battersnouncountable
The weaker batters at the end of a cricket team's batting order.
Like the slowest runners at the back of a team race.
The tail collapsed quickly, and the innings ended within minutes.
Their tail can still score useful runs when the top order fails.
Note
15
math sequencenouncountable
In math, all the terms of a list after a chosen point.
Like the end of a movie: only the last part decides how it finishes.
The first few terms do not matter. Only the tail decides the limit.
We only care about the tail, so the first few numbers don't matter.
Note
16
note stemnouncountable
In written music, the straight line going up or down from the round part of a note.
Each note has a round head and a thin tail going up or down.
Draw the tail on the right side when the note sits low on the staff.
Similarstem
Note
17
roof tile edgenouncountable
The bottom edge of a roof slate or tile.
Rain runs off the tail of each slate onto the row below.
The roofer trimmed the tail of the tile to fit the edge.
Oppositehead
Note
18
pull alongverbtransitive
To pull an animal or object along by its tail.
The guide tailed my salmon and pulled it out of the water.
The rancher had to tail the weak cow up so she could stand.
Similardrag, pull, haul
Note
19
nounslang
A slang word for the penis.
20
noun
Leftover waste material from processing ore at a mine.
21
noun
A short piece of twisted wire used to connect electrical parts.
22
noun
The group of servants or followers who travel with an important person.
23
nounobsolete
The tough cord at the end of a muscle that is farthest from the middle of the body.
24
noun
The last part of a batch of distilled liquid, which holds the worst-tasting bits.
25
noun
A short rope joined to a pulley block so it can be tied to something.
26
noun
A thin part that sticks out from the back wing of some butterflies.
27
noun
A soft, feathery part on some seeds.
28
noun
The shallow, painful end of a cut made in surgery.
29
noun
One of the strips you get by cutting a bandage's end.
30
verb
Of a beam, to have one end resting in a wall or similar support.
31
verb
Of a boat at anchor, to turn its back end one way.
32
adjective
Made smaller or limited.
33
noun
A rule that only some family members can inherit property.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of tail apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English tæġl, meaning "tail." It goes back to older Germanic and Indo-European roots linked to hair and the hair of a tail.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Tail derives from Old English tæġl, meaning "tail." en.wiktionary.org
The word has older Germanic ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Its Germanic and Indo-European ancestry is linked to hair and the hair of a tail. en.wiktionary.org