tales
Americannoun
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(used with a plural verb) persons chosen to serve on the jury when the original panel is insufficiently large: originally selected from among those present in court.
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(used with a singular verb) the order or writ summoning such jurors.
noun
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(functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel
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(functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tales
1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin tālēs ( dē circumstantibus ) such (of the bystanders)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She recalls other witches from folk tales like Baba Yaga, frightening characters but also, she says, “women possessing an innocence that had been eroded over the years by the harshness of life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
There are countless tales of prolific academy strikers who never make the top level in senior football.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Without any winking irony or condescension to our ancient forebears in storytelling, the writer-director aims to rekindle our fascination with these oft-told tales: the Trojan Horse, the Sirens’ song, Scylla and Charybdis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
There are tales of visionary ambition that, more often than not, don’t pan out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
He listened with shining eyes to tales of wonders he had himself seen—once, long ago—and would not see again.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
