swallow-tailed

[ swol-oh-teyld ]

/ ˈswɒl oʊˌteɪld /

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adjective

having a deeply forked tail like that of a swallow, as various birds.

having an end or part suggesting a swallow's tail.

(of a flag) having a triangular indentation in the fly so as to create two tails.

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Origin of swallow-tailed

First recorded in 1690–1700

Words nearby swallow-tailed

swallow hole, swallowing reflex, swallow one's pride, swallow one's words, swallowtail, swallow-tailed, swallow-tailed coat, swallow-tailed kite, swallow-tanager, swallowwort, swam

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use swallow-tailed in a sentence

For Randy, a 50-year-old ex-Mormon gay man, this cure was a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism|Samantha Allen|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For the Times, which had won four Pulitzer Prizes in 2013, the Snowden slip-up was a bitter pill to swallow.
Is The Guardian Holding Back The New York Times’ Snowden Stories?|Lloyd Grove|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even more difficult to swallow: Perry likes to put his name in front of a lot of his projects.
Gone Girl’s Biggest Twist Is the Superb Tyler Perry|Alex Suskind|October 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's a hard pill to swallow not because the show isn't good.
The Biggest Emmys Snubs and Surprises: 'Modern Family,' McConaughey, and More|Kevin Fallon|August 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Jordan is in an even more delicate position, and a country that ISIS would dearly like to swallow.
How a Real Air War Could Demolish ISIS|Clive Irving|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hunger had to be satisfied, however, and I had to swallow my pride and my five-pennyworth.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
In smoking, they swallow the fumes of the tobacco which causes intoxication for a time.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The birds that build them swallow a certain kind of glutinous weed growing on the coral rocks.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
Here was something for the "babes and sucklings" of the craft of violin making to swallow.
Antonio Stradivari|Horace William Petherick
I doa'nt swallow that story o' her'n. Depend upon it, man, it be a big lie fro' beginning to end.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie

British Dictionary definitions for swallow-tailed

swallow-tailed

adjective

(of a bird) having a deeply forked tail

having a part resembling a swallow's tail

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