tales
Americannoun
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(used with a plural verb) persons chosen to serve on the jury when the original panel is insufficiently large: originally selected from among those present in court.
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(used with a singular verb) the order or writ summoning such jurors.
noun
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(functioning as plural) a group of persons summoned from among those present in court or from bystanders to fill vacancies on a jury panel
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(functioning as singular) the writ summoning such jurors
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tales
1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin tālēs ( dē circumstantibus ) such (of the bystanders)
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.
He told us tales of big brinjals, bright pumpkin flowers, sprite okra that grew in the farmland in what’s now Bangladesh, where he grew up.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
But a transformation worthy of one of Dahl’s twisted tales unfolds as the writer perversely makes a bad situation worse.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
Still, we keep seeing agent disasters that serve as cautionary tales.
From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026
She said: "A great teacher I had at primary school read many Dartmoor tales to us and one I always remember is the Hairy Hands."
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
She thought of the dreaded figure of Mr. Alpo, from the Giddy-Yap, Rainbow! tales, who disposed of unwanted ponies by taking them to the slaughterhouse.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
