foxtail

[ foks-teyl ]

/ ˈfɒksˌteɪl /

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noun

the tail of a fox.

any of various grasses having soft, brushlike spikes of flowers.

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Origin of foxtail

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at fox, tail¹

Words nearby foxtail

Fox Islands, fox moth, fox snake, fox sparrow, fox squirrel, foxtail, foxtail millet, foxtail wedge, Fox Talbot, fox terrier, fox trot

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

How to use foxtail in a sentence

To make herself feel safer, she filled her home with plants recommended for improving indoor air quality, including foxtail ferns and peace lilies.
They Knew Industrial Pollution Was Ruining the Neighborhood’s Air. If Only Regulators Had Listened.|by Lisa Song, with additional reporting by Ava Kofman, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica|November 29, 2021|ProPublica
But if the girls or women dozed, he gently tickled their cheeks with the foxtail hanging at the other end of the same stick.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies|H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
The honey clover, foxtail, mullein, and dill-poppies had closed over the horrible path-way leading to the church door-block.
The Red Debt|Everett MacDonald
Another day the juncos are feeding on the seeds of the foxtail or pigeon grass, in an old orchard hard by the border of the woods.
Our Bird Comrades|Leander S. (Leander Sylvester) Keyser

Foxtail (Setaria glauca), false redtop (Triodia flava), and panic grass (Panicum clandestinum) also occur commonly.
Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas|Donald W. Janes
Sheep sorrel was most common, next to this yellow or bitter dock and green foxtail.
Seeds of Michigan Weeds|W. J. (William James) Beal

British Dictionary definitions for foxtail

foxtail

/ (ˈfɒksˌteɪl) /

noun

any grass of the genus Alopecurus, esp A. pratensis, of Europe, Asia, and South America, having soft cylindrical spikes of flowers: cultivated as a pasture grass

any of various similar and related grasses, esp any of the genus Setaria

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