Background for tail

tail

/teɪl/

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noun

The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.

Examples :

"Most primates have a tail and fangs."

animal body part anatomy biology organism essential

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noun

An object or part of an object resembling a tail in shape, such as the thongs on a cat-o'-nine-tails.

Examples :

"The whip had leather tails that were stiff and painful. "

animal part weapon essential

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noun

The back, last, lower, or inferior part of anything.

Examples :

"The tail end of the school year was filled with lots of projects. "

part animal body essential

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noun

The feathers attached to the pygostyle of a bird.

Examples :

"The robin's bright red tail was a beautiful sight as it perched on the fence post. "

bird anatomy part essential

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noun

The tail-end of an object, e.g. the rear of an aircraft's fuselage, containing the tailfin.

Examples :

"The airplane's tail was damaged during the storm. "

vehicle part technical machine structure essential

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noun

The rear structure of an aircraft, the empennage.

Examples :

"The plane's tail was damaged during the storm. "

technical vehicle machine part structure essential

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noun

The visible stream of dust and gases blown from a comet by the solar wind.

Examples :

"The comet's tail stretched across the night sky, a brilliant display of dust and gas. "

astronomy space phenomena essential

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noun

The latter part of a time period or event, or (collectively) persons or objects represented in this part.

Examples :

"The tail end of the school year was filled with many projects and tests. "

time event group part essential

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noun

The part of a distribution most distant from the mode; as, a long tail.

Examples :

"The results of the math quiz showed a long tail, meaning many students scored lower than the average. "

statistics math essential

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noun

One who surreptitiously follows another.

Examples :

"The student was a tail of the popular girl, following her everywhere after school. "

person action police essential

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noun

The lower order of batsmen in the batting order, usually specialist bowlers.

Examples :

"The tail of the cricket team struggled to score runs, but their specialist bowlers performed well. "

sport essential

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noun

The lower loop of the letters in the Roman alphabet, as in g, q or y.

Examples :

"The letter "g" has a distinctive tail. "

language writing linguistics essential

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noun

(chiefly in the plural) The side of a coin not bearing the head; normally the side on which the monetary value of the coin is indicated; the reverse.

Examples :

"My dad flipped the coin, and the tails side landed face up. "

value business finance essential

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noun

All the last terms of a sequence, from some term on.

Examples :

"The tail of the student attendance list started with the names of students who were absent last week. "

math list number statistics essential

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noun

The buttocks or backside.

Examples :

"My dog wagged its tail happily when I brought home a treat. "

body anatomy essential

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noun

The penis of a person or animal.

Examples :

"The veterinarian examined the dog's tail to check for injuries. "

animal anatomy organ sex body essential

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noun

Sexual intercourse.

Examples :

"The rumors about the couple were that they had a secret tail. "

sex body human essential

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noun

(kayaking) The stern; the back of the kayak.

Examples :

"My brother paddled hard, aiming for the finish line and keeping his eyes on the tail of the kayak. "

sport nautical vehicle sailing technical part essential

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noun

A train or company of attendants; a retinue.

Examples :

"The mayor's important tail of assistants helped carry her heavy documents. "

group person essential

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noun

The distal tendon of a muscle.

Examples :

"The doctor examined the patient's Achilles tendon, which is the tail of the calf muscle. "

anatomy medicine organ body essential

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noun

A filamentous projection on the tornal section of each hind wing of certain butterflies.

Examples :

"The butterfly's tail helped it to quickly identify its mate. "

animal insect biology anatomy part essential

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noun

A downy or feathery appendage of certain achens, formed of the permanent elongated style.

Examples :

"The dandelion seed had a fluffy tail, which helped it float on the breeze. "

biology plant part essential

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noun

A portion of an incision, at its beginning or end, which does not go through the whole thickness of the skin, and is more painful than a complete incision; called also tailing.

Examples :

"The surgeon made a small tail on the patient's wound, which was more painful than the deeper cuts around it. "

medicine anatomy body part sensation suffering essential

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noun

One of the strips at the end of a bandage formed by splitting the bandage one or more times.

Examples :

"The first-aid kit contained several tails of the adhesive bandage, perfect for covering small cuts. "

medicine part essential

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noun

A rope spliced to the strap of a block, by which it may be lashed to anything.

Examples :

"The worker used the tail to lash the heavy block to the sturdy beam. "

nautical sailing technical essential

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noun

The part of a note which runs perpendicularly upward or downward from the head; the stem.

Examples :

"The music teacher asked the students to carefully draw the tail of the "g" note. "

music part essential

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noun

Examples :

"The factory's tailing pond is a large body of water that collects wastewater from the metal-processing plant. "

action police essential

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noun

The bottom or lower portion of a member or part such as a slate or tile.

Examples :

"The roofer carefully placed the new slate's tail onto the roof's edge. "

architecture part essential

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noun

Examples :

"My grandfather wore a fine tail to the wedding. "

wear style appearance essential

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verb

To follow and observe surreptitiously.

Examples :

"Tail that car!"

police action essential

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verb

To hold by the end; said of a timber when it rests upon a wall or other support; with in or into

Examples :

"The carpenter tailed the long wooden beam against the wall to support the roof. "

architecture technical building essential

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verb

To swing with the stern in a certain direction; said of a vessel at anchor.

Examples :

"This vessel tails downstream."

nautical sailing ocean vehicle essential

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verb

To follow or hang to, like a tail; to be attached closely to, as that which can not be evaded.

Examples :

"The dog's leash tailed behind him as he walked down the street. "

action police essential

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verb

To pull or draw by the tail.

Examples :

"The dog's playful owner tried to tail the frisbee across the park. "

animal action essential

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noun

Limitation of inheritance to certain heirs.

Examples :

"in tail — subject to such a limitation"

property law family essential

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adjective

Limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed.

Examples :

"estate tail"

amount quality essential