Meaning & use
tail
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Meanings
nouncountable
The movable part at the back of an animal's body, extending beyond the main part.
Grammar: Takes an or the: the dog's tail.
Patterns
- the tail of something
The dog wagged its tail when we came home.
A fox has a long, bushy tail.
The cat curled its tail around its paws.
nouncountable
The back or end part of something, such as an aircraft, a coat or a line of people.
Grammar: Often with of: the tail of the line.
Patterns
- the tail of something
- at the tail end of something
The pilot noticed damage to the tail of the plane.
We stood at the tail of the queue for an hour.
The comet's tail stretched across the night sky.
verbtransitiveinformal
To follow someone closely and secretly in order to watch where they go.
Grammar: Takes an object: tail the suspect.
Patterns
- tail someone
- tail someone to something
Detectives tailed the suspect through the city.
A reporter tailed the senator for a week.
I noticed a car tailing us after we left the bank.
nouncountableinformal
A person who follows someone secretly.
Grammar: Informal, often in put a tail on someone.
Patterns
- put a tail on someone
The police put a tail on the suspect.
He thought he had lost his tail in the crowd.
She shook off her tail by going through the market.
Word forms
| plural | tails |
|---|---|
| third person singular | tails |
| past tense | tailed |
| past participle | tailed |
| -ing form | tailing |
Common combinations
- wag its tail
- The puppy wagged its tail with delight.
- tail end
- We arrived at the tail end of the party.
- turn tail
- The thief turned tail and ran when the alarm went off.
- tail light
- One of the car's tail lights was broken.
- tail off
- The noise began to tail off as the crowd left.
- put a tail on someone
- The agency put a tail on the missing clerk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rear
- Rear is a general word for the back of anything, and it is less specific than tail, which also means an animal's tail.
- follow
- Follow is neutral and can be open, while tail means to follow secretly and closely.
- shadow
- Shadow as a verb suggests close, persistent following, often for long periods, and it can sound more dramatic than tail.
- trail
- Trail means to follow behind, often at a distance and sometimes openly, while tail adds secrecy and intent to watch.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tail or tale?
tail vs tale
Tale sounds exactly like tail but means a story. Tail is the body part or the act of following.
Practice
The police decided to ___ the suspect to find out where he went each evening.
Choose one answer.
To tail someone is to follow them secretly. Tale is a story, which does not fit this sentence, though it sounds the same.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.