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definitions

bobtail

[bob-teyl]
noun
  1. a short or docked tail.
  2. an animal with such a tail.
adjective
  1. Also bob·tailed. having a bobtail.
  2. cut short; docked; cropped.
  3. shorter or briefer than usual; abbreviated: Several legislative items must be dropped from the current bobtail session of Congress.
verb (used with object)
  1. to cut short the tail of; dock, often by cutting a muscle in a horse's tail to make it stand erect.

Origin of bobtail

First recorded in 1535–45; bob2 + tail1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bobtail

Historical Examples of bobtail

  • But Bobtail did not laugh, for Monkey was a friend, and a brother, in the generic sense.

    Little Bobtail

    Oliver Optic

  • He asked a thousand questions which Bobtail could not answer, and a thousand more which he did answer.

    Little Bobtail

    Oliver Optic

  • Then Bobtail said he had a letter for you, and I told him to put it on your desk.

    Little Bobtail

    Oliver Optic

  • Bobtail did not like to say anything about the boxes before the other gentleman; so he did not allude to them.

    Little Bobtail

    Oliver Optic

  • "I don't run away from anything of this sort," replied Bobtail, proudly.

    Little Bobtail

    Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for bobtail

bobtail

noun
  1. a docked or diminutive tail
  2. an animal with such a tail
adjective Also: bobtailed
  1. having the tail cut short
verb (tr)
  1. to dock the tail of
  2. 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