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Showing results for long tail. Search instead for long trail.

long tail

British  

noun

  1. commerce the segment of a market representing the large number of products that sell in small quantities, considered by some to be of greater financial value than the few products that sell in very large quantities

"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

Etymology

Origin of long tail

C21: from the appearance of typical sales patterns on a graph

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.

See Examples For:

You could, of course, play all three left-armers, but that would probably mean leaving out vice-captain Charlie Dean and having a problematically long tail.

From BBC May 20, 2026

Ostensibly the scandal concerns the vetting of a high-profile appointee—the long tail of the release in the U.S. of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 20, 2026

Colbert was given a pink slip with a long tail this year.

From Salon Dec. 24, 2025

Charlie Puth, “Changes” The long tail of “Sob Rock.”

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 4, 2025

They saw the fur on his shoulders rise, his hindquarters begin to lift from the ground, and the tip of his long tail begin to twitch like a thing with its own life.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

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