tailpipe

American  

[teyl-pahyp] / ˈteɪlˌpaɪp /

Or tail pipe

noun

1. an exhaust pipe located at the rear of a motor vehicle or aircraft powered by an internal-combustion engine.

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tailpipe British  

/ ˈteɪlˌpaɪp /

noun

1. a pipe from which the exhaust gases from an internal-combustion engine are discharged, esp the terminal pipe of the exhaust system of a motor vehicle

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Etymology

Origin of tailpipe

1880–85, in sense, “suction pipe of a pump”; 1905–10 for current sense; tail ¹ + pipe ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tailpipe

SAF still produces tailpipe emissions when it is burned to power planes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

That’s comparable to removing the tailpipe pollution of 100 cars for one year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

While tailpipe emissions have dramatically reduced, other cars parts are producing a greater share of the pollution.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2025

It is the heaviest mass-market car in the world, and, being all electric, it did not have a single molecule of carbon dioxide flaring from the tailpipe.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2025

A plume of exhaust billows from the tailpipe.

From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz