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.
The reality is, alongside our favorite tales from the Mother Road, darker moments in history also echo throughout the 2,448-mile stretch.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
The $12 billion fund is one of the largest publicly traded business development companies, and its credit stumbles have become one of the sector’s cautionary tales.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
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
Lori Inglis Hall delivers, in Malcolm Forbes’s words, “an engrossing novel whose twin tales have emotional depth.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
“To my cousins, or your tales sister in Vienna. We will get a letter when the mail begins to come again.”
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
