fishtail

American  

[fish-teyl] / ˈfɪʃˌteɪl /

verb (used without object)

1. to swerve or skid from side to side, as the rear end of a car.

2. to slow an airplane by causing its tail to move rapidly from side to side.

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noun

1. such a maneuver.

2. a gas burner having two jets crossing each other so as to produce a flame resembling a fish's tail.

3. a device having a long, narrow slot at the top, placed over a gas jet, as of a Bunsen burner, to give a thin, fanlike flame.

4. Jewelry. a setting consisting of four prominent triangular corner prongs to hold the stone.

fishtail British  

/ ˈfɪʃˌteɪl /

noun

1. an aeroplane manoeuvre in which the tail is moved from side to side to reduce speed

2. a nozzle having a long narrow slot at the top, placed over a Bunsen burner to produce a thin fanlike flame

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verb

1. to slow an aeroplane by moving the tail from side to side

2. to drive with the rear of the vehicle moving from side to side in an uncontrolled fashion

Etymology

Origin of fishtail

1400–50; late Middle English. See fish, tail ¹

Example Sentences

The fishtail halter dress, made from an African wax Akara fabric picked out by Mpamaugo’s mother, was a medley of shapes, patterns and colors.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The world provides guardrails against our juvenile impulses, particularly the ones we continue to drag behind us as we fishtail into our middle years.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2023

There's no fishtail hem but she's still definitely channelling a subtle mermaid vibe.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2022

Then the speeding tractor-trailer started to fishtail uncontrollably, said the teenager, Esvin Chipel Tzoy.

From New York Times • Dec. 10, 2021

As we came in toward land, Elroy cut the engine, letting the boat fishtail lightly about twenty yards off shore.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Related Words

• fluctuate
• lurch
• seesaw
• teeter
• vacillate
• waver
• wobble