bobtail

[ bob-teyl ]

/ ˈbɒbˌteɪl /

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noun

a short or docked tail.

an animal with such a tail.

adjective

Also bobtailed . 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.

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Origin of bobtail

First recorded in 1535–45; bob² + tail¹

Words nearby bobtail

bobsledding, bobsleigh, bobstay, bobsy-die, Bob's your uncle, bobtail, bob up, bob veal, bobweight, bobwhite, bob wire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bobtail in a sentence

Looking at animals like the bobtail squid, which have immune systems not totally unlike humans, is the first step.
Dozens of baby squid are orbiting our planet right now|Monroe Hammond|June 23, 2021|Popular-Science
The news only reached his lordship yesterday at noon, while at breakfast with his Excellency Lord Bobtail, our ambassador.
Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush|William Makepeace Thackeray
And he laughed as he doffed his bobtail coat, And the echoing folds of the carpet smote.
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
He received a reply at Providence, and he read it and felt like a gambler who has drawn a card to fill his bobtail hand.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day

There are about twenty American organizations here—big, little, rag-tag, and bobtail.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II|Burton J. Hendrick
Harry'd never go to any of those other big strikes—the Bobtail, or the one in Russell Gulch, or a lot more.
The Pike's Peak Rush|Edwin L. Sabin

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