Library / English Dictionary

TAIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

appendage; outgrowth; process (a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant)

Meronyms (parts of "tail"):

dock (the solid bony part of the tail of an animal as distinguished from the hair)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tail"):

flag (a conspicuously marked or shaped tail)

rattle (loosely connected horny sections at the end of a rattlesnake's tail)

brush (a bushy tail or part of a bushy tail (especially of the fox))

bob; bobtail; dock (a short or shortened tail of certain animals)

caudal appendage (tail especially of a mammal posterior to and above the anus)

uropygium (posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow)

oxtail (the skinned tail of cattle; used especially for soups)

fluke (either of the two lobes of the tail of a cetacean)

scut (a short erect tail)

Holonyms ("tail" is a part of...):

craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)

Derivation:

tail (remove or shorten the tail of an animal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The rear part of a ship

Synonyms:

after part; poop; quarter; stern; tail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

back; rear (the side that goes last or is not normally seen)

Meronyms (parts of "tail"):

escutcheon ((nautical) a plate on a ship's stern on which the name is inscribed)

skeg (a brace that extends from the rear of the keel to support the rudderpost)

Holonyms ("tail" is a part of...):

ship (a vessel that carries passengers or freight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The rear part of an aircraft

Synonyms:

empennage; tail; tail assembly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

back; rear (the side that goes last or is not normally seen)

Meronyms (parts of "tail"):

horizontal tail (the horizontal stabilizer and elevator in the tail assembly of an aircraft)

stabilizer (airfoil consisting of a device for stabilizing an aircraft)

vertical tail (the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraft)

Holonyms ("tail" is a part of...):

fuselage (the central body of an airplane that is designed to accommodate the crew and passengers (or cargo))

Sense 4

Meaning:

(usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

reverse; verso (the side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Holonyms ("tail" is a part of...):

coin (a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money)

Antonym:

head ((usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

Example:

are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?

Synonyms:

arse; ass; backside; behind; bottom; bum; buns; butt; buttocks; can; derriere; fanny; fundament; hind end; hindquarters; keister; nates; posterior; prat; rear; rear end; rump; seat; stern; tail; tail end; tooshie; tush

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Holonyms ("tail" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A spy employed to follow someone and report their movements

Synonyms:

shadow; shadower; tail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

spy (a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people)

follower (someone who travels behind or pursues another)

Derivation:

tail (go after with the intent to catch)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Any projection that resembles the tail of an animal

Synonyms:

tail; tail end

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

projection (any solid convex shape that juts out from something)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The time of the last part of something

Example:

the tail of the storm

Synonyms:

fag end; tail; tail end

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("tail" is a kind of...):

end; ending (the point in time at which something ends)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Remove the stalk of fruits or berries

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tail" is one way to...):

pinch; top (cut the top off)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Remove or shorten the tail of an animal

Synonyms:

bob; dock; tail

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tail" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

tail (the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Go after with the intent to catch

Example:

the dog chased the rabbit

Synonyms:

chase; chase after; dog; give chase; go after; tag; tail; track; trail

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "tail" is one way to...):

follow; pursue (follow in or as if in pursuit)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tail"):

tree (chase an animal up a tree)

quest (search the trail of (game))

hound; hunt; trace (pursue or chase relentlessly)

run down (pursue until captured)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot tail Sue

Derivation:

tail (a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements)

tailing (the act of following someone secretly)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Usually, when comets are warmed by the Sun they eject dust and gas, which form a cloud of material — called a coma — around them, as well as the characteristic tail.

(ESO’s VLT Sees `Oumuamua Getting a Boost, ESO)

Calpain1 cleaves the target proteins, talin, ezrin, paxillin, and the cytoplasmic tail of the integrins B1(a) and B3(b) to release the adhesion and form new adhesions.

(Calpain-2 Cell Motility Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Toward the tail in a body.

(Caudal, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Removal of the body and tail of the pancreas.

(Distal pancreatectomy, NCI Dictionary)

The first tests they used were the tail suspension test and the forced swim tests, which are often used to determine whether or not a compound is an antidepressant.

(New Method for Treating Depression, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This allele, which encodes poly(A) polymerase alpha protein, is involved in both the synthesis of the 3' poly(A) tail of mRNAs and endoribonucleolytic cleavage at some polyadenylation sites.

(PAPOLA wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

The tail, which is about 99 million years old, appears to be brown on the top and white underneath.

(Dinosaur Tail Found in Myanmar, VOA News)

The tail tapers and is carried high and alert.

(Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes poly(A) polymerase beta protein, plays a role in creation of the 3' poly(A) tail of mRNAs during mRNA processing.

(PAPOLB wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

That’s the Duke of Norfolk—the stout man in blue upon the swish-tailed mare.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)