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tail end

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tail end ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the hinder or rear part of anything.
the concluding or final part or section; tag end: the tail end of a lecture.

Origin of tail end

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tail end

appendage, behind, butt, buttocks, conclusion, end, extremity, posterior, rear, reverse, rump, stub, tag, train, tush, empennage, rudder, tailpiece, wagger

Examples from the Web for tail end

Historical Examples of tail end

  • I didn't believe there was one loose in this tail-end of nowhere.

    Cy Whittaker's Place

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I took my place at the tail-end of the line, and every newcomer fell in behind me.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • We remained in the square and saw the tail-end of their mess cart.

    Pushed and the Return Push

    George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)

  • I allowed my eyes to linger over the tail-end of the letter, while I thought.

    The Message

    Alec John Dawson

  • "I don't understand the tail-end o' that," said Mrs. Trevarthen.

    Shining Ferry

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for tail end

tail end

noun

the last, endmost, or final part
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
Idioms and Phrases with tail end

tail end

1

The rear or hindmost part, as in Douglas was at the tail end of the academic procession. [Mid-1700s]

2

The very end, the conclusion, as in Only at the tail end of his speech did he thank his sponsors. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.