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tail end

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noun
  1. the hinder or rear part of anything.
  2. the concluding or final part or section; tag end: the tail end of a lecture.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for tail end

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. the last, endmost, or final part
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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]

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2

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

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