tailrace

[ teyl-reys ]

noun

the race, flume, or channel leading away from a waterwheel or the like.
Mining. the channel for conducting tailings or refuse away in water.

Origin of tailrace

First recorded in 1770–80; tail¹ + race¹

Words Nearby tailrace

tailor's-tack
tail out
tailpiece
tailpipe
tail plane
tailrace
tail rotor
tails
tail skid
tailspin
tailstock

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

How to use tailrace in a sentence

In the winter of 1863 a tailrace was cut to the river which greatly ameliorated conditions.
Montreal 1535-1914, Volume II (of 2) | William Henry Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for tailrace

tailrace

/ (ˈteɪlˌreɪs) /

noun

a channel that carries water away from a water wheel, turbine, etc: Compare headrace
mining the channel for removing tailings in water

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

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