bobtail

[ bob-teyl ]

/ ˈbɒbˌteɪl /

noun

a short or docked tail.

an animal with such a tail.

adjective

Also bob·tailed. having a bobtail.

cut short; docked; cropped.

shorter or briefer than usual; abbreviated: Several legislative items must be dropped from the current bobtail session of Congress.

verb (used with object)

to cut short the tail of; dock, often by cutting a muscle in a horse's tail to make it stand erect.

Nearby words

bobsled, bobsledding, bobsleigh, bobstay, bobsy-die, bobtail, bobweight, bobwhite, bobèche, boca raton, bocaccio

Origin of bobtail

First recorded in 1535–45; bob² + tail¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bobtail

"I don't run away from anything of this sort," replied Bobtail, proudly.
Little Bobtail|Oliver Optic
Vide: The ingenious use which Rag makes of Bobtail's pliable hat.
In Bohemia with Du Maurier|Felix Moscheles
The order was given to get up the anchor, and Bobtail sprang to take a hand in the operation.
Little Bobtail|Oliver Optic
Bobtail walked up to the hotel, for the stage from Rockland, by which his mother would return, stopped there.
Little Bobtail|Oliver Optic

Bobtail and Monkey heaved on the warp-line till they brought the Skylark alongside this lee quarter.
Little Bobtail|Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for bobtail

bobtail

/ (ˈbɒbˌteɪl) /

noun

a docked or diminutive tail

an animal with such a tail

adjective Also: bobtailed

having the tail cut short

verb (tr)

to dock the tail of

to cut short; curtail

Word Origin for bobtail

C16: from bob ² + tail 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012