Dictionary.com
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

Idioms about tail

    turn tail,
    1. to turn one's back on, as in aversion or fright.
    2. to run away from difficulty, opposition, etc.; flee: The sight of superior forces made the attackers turn tail.
    with one's tail between one's legs, utterly humiliated; in defeat; dejectedly: They were forced to retreat with their tails between their legs.

Origin of tail

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English tægl, tægel; cognate with Old Norse tagl “horse's tail,” Gothic tagl “(single) hair,” Middle High German zagel “tail,” Middle Low German tagel “rope, rope-end, scourge”

usage note for tail

The meanings “sexual intercourse” and “female sexual partner” are both vulgar slang. When referring to a person, the term tail is usually used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting.

OTHER WORDS FROM tail

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tail

tail , tale

Other definitions for tail (2 of 2)

tail2
[ teyl ]
/ teɪl /
Law.

noun
the limitation of an estate to a person and the person’s heirs or some particular class of such heirs.
adjective
limited to a specified line of heirs; entailed.

Origin of tail

2
First recorded in 1200–50; (noun) Middle English taille, from Old French, derivative of taillier “to cut,” from Late Latin tāliāre (see tailor1); (adjective) late Middle English taille, from Anglo-French tailé “cut, shaped, limited,” past participle of tailler

OTHER WORDS FROM tail

tailless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tail in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tail (1 of 2)

tail1
/ (teɪl) /

noun
verb

Derived forms of tail

tailless, adjectivetaillessly, adverbtaillessness, nountail-like, adjective

Word Origin for tail

Old English tægel; related to Old Norse tagl horse's tail, Gothic tagl hair, Old High German zagal tail

British Dictionary definitions for tail (2 of 2)

tail2
/ (teɪl) property law /

noun
the limitation of an estate or interest to a person and the heirs of his bodySee also entail
adjective
(immediately postpositive) (of an estate or interest) limited in this way

Derived forms of tail

tailless, adjective

Word Origin for tail

C15: from Old French taille a division; see tailor, tally
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

Scientific definitions for tail

tail
[ tāl ]

The rear, elongated part of many animals, extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body. Tails are used variously for balance, combat, communication, mating displays, fat storage, propulsion and course correction in water, and course correction in air.
A long, stream of gas or dust forced from the head of a comet when it is close to the Sun. Tails can be up to 150 million km (93 million miles) long, and they always point away from the Sun because of the force of the solar wind.Plasma tails, or ion tails, appear bluish and straight and narrow, and are formed when solar wind forces ionized gas to stream off the coma. Dust tails are wide and curved, and are formed when solar heat forces trails of dust off the coma; solid particles reflecting the Sun's light create their bright yellow color.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with tail

tail

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