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Synonyms

tail end

American  

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.


tail end British  

noun

  1. 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

tail end Idioms  
  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]


Etymology

Origin of tail end

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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.

But the differential has been positive since the very tail end of 2020, and has spiked significantly since mid-February.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

Weather in March in the UK is famously unpredictable, caught between the tail end of winter and the first hints of spring.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

“I literally thought to myself, ‘Well, I made it to the tail end of the series.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Importantly, this new rally comes at the tail end of one of the most notable S&P 500/gold ratio declines, “suggesting markets are not complacent at all about geopolitical risks/concerns,” he says.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

In that optimistic, postwar America, which I caught the tail end of, everybody was the master of his own destiny, so it only followed that my father would try to be the master of his.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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