# tails

Pronunciation: say "TAYLZ" /teɪlz/

## Noun

1. Plural of tail. — plural of tail
   - Simple: Plural of tail. Use it when you mean more than one tail.
   - _Lizards can drop their tails to escape predators._
   - _The aircraft were painted with the airline's logo on their tails._
2. The reverse of a coin, opposite the side that carries a head-of-state portrait or a comparable image.
   - Simple: The side of a coin that does not show a person's head or face.
   - _He guessed tails, but the coin came up heads instead._
   - _The referee tossed the coin, and the captain chose tails._
3. Clipping of tailcoat. *(slang)* — Clipping of tailcoat.
   - Simple: Short for tailcoat. It means a formal coat that men wear at fancy events.
   - _The groom looked elegant in tails and a crisp white shirt._
   - _Waiters at the grand ball were dressed in tails._
5. The waste material left over after the valuable portion has been extracted, especially in mining or processing.
   - Simple: Leftover waste material from mining or industry after the useful part is taken out.
   - _The company reprocessed its tails to extract leftover copper._
   - _Decades of tails had built up behind the processing plant._
6. The final fraction collected during distillation, containing heavier compounds and generally separated from the desirable middle portion.
   - Simple: The final part of a distilling run, which holds heavier, lower-quality alcohol.
   - _Skilled distillers separate the tails to avoid harsh, oily flavors._
   - _The tails from the first run were saved for a second distillation._

## Verb

4. Third-person singular simple present indicative of tail. — third-person singular simple present indicative of tail
   - Simple: Third-person singular present of tail. Use it with he, she, or it for following close behind someone.
   - _The unmarked car tails the truck across three counties._
   - _She tails her target quietly, staying half a block behind._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tails (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).