tail

/teɪl/

/teɪl/

Other forms: tails; tailed

The part of a dog's body that wags enthusiastically when the dog is happy is the tail. In mammals, tails are actually an extension of the spinal column.

Tails serve various purposes in different animals. A fish's tail helps it move through the water, a cow's tail is a built-in fly swatter, and a scorpion uses its tail for self-defense. This noun also means simply "back end," like the tail of an airplane or the tail of a suit jacket. Colloquially, to tail someone means to follow them secretly.

Definitions of tail

1. noun

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

   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

   flag

   a conspicuously marked or shaped tail

   type of:

   appendage, outgrowth, process

   a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant
2. noun

   any projection that resembles the tail of an animal
   synonyms: tail end

   type of:

   projection

   any solid convex shape that juts out from something
3. noun

   the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
   synonyms: 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 end, tooshie, tush

   type of:

   body part

   any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
4. noun

   the rear part of an aircraft
   synonyms: empennage, tail assembly

   type of:

   back, rear

   the side that goes last or is not normally seen
5. noun

   the rear part of a ship
   synonyms: after part, poop, quarter, stern

   type of:

   back, rear

   the side that goes last or is not normally seen
6. verb

   remove or shorten the tail of an animal
   synonyms: bob, dock

   type of:

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument
7. verb

   remove the stalk of fruits or berries
   type of:

   pinch, top

   cut the top off
8. noun

   the time of the last part of something
   “the tail of the storm”

   synonyms: fag end, tail end

   type of:

   end, ending

   the point in time at which something ends
9. noun

   a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements
   synonyms: shadow, shadower

   type of:

   follower

   someone who travels behind or pursues another

   spy

   a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people
10. verb

    go after with the intent to catch
    synonyms: chase, chase after, dog, give chase, go after, tag, track, trail

    types:

    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

    ferret

    hound or harry relentlessly

    type of:

    follow, pursue

    follow in or as if in pursuit
11. noun

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

    head

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

    type of:

    reverse, verso

    the side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design