tail

noun
UK: /teɪl/
US: /teɪl/

  1. The part that extends from the back of an animal's body.

    1. The dog wags its tail when it is happy. [ ] [ ]
    2. The cat swished its tail back and forth, indicating annoyance with the situation. [ ] [ ]

  2. The rear part of an aircraft or vehicle.

    1. The plane's tail had a distinctive red stripe. [ ] [ ]
    2. The pilot skillfully landed the jet, despite the damage to its tail section. [ ] [ ]

  3. The end or concluding part of something.

    1. At the tail of the parade, the clowns appeared. [ ] [ ]
    2. We caught the tail end of the movie, but we understood the main plot. [ ] [ ]

  4. Someone who is secretly following another person.

    1. A detective was hired to put a tail on the suspect. [ ] [ ]
    2. The spy realized he had a tail and tried to lose him in the crowd. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

end rear shadow follow
tail verb

  1. To follow and observe someone secretly.

    1. The police tailed the suspect for days. [ ] [ ]
    2. She suspected that her ex was tailing her, so she changed her route. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "tail" in English means: The part that extends from the back of an animal's body., The rear part of an aircraft or vehicle., The end or concluding part of something., Someone who is secretly following another person..

The phonetic transcription of "tail" is /teɪl/ in British English and /teɪl/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "tail": end, rear, shadow, follow.

Example usage of "tail": "The dog wags its tail when it is happy.". More examples on the page.