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tail

tail

 
 
pronunciation:
teIl
parts of speech:
noun, adjective, verb
features:
Homophone Note, Word Explorer
part of speech: noun
definition 1: the rear part of an animal's body that sticks out from the backbone.
The dog wags his tail when he is happy.
 
definition 2: something that looks like an animal's tail in position or form.
He attached a tail to the kite.The comet had a long tail.
definition 3: the rear, bottom, or end part of anything.
You should tuck in the tail of your shirt.
definition 4: (plural) the reverse side of a coin, opposite the head.
I'll flip a coin, and you call heads or tails.
antonyms:
head
 
part of speech: adjective
definition: being in the rear.
We built a porch on the tail end of our house.I sat in the tail seat on the plane.
 
part of speech: verb
inflections: tails, tailing, tailed
definition 1: to follow at the end of.
A large float tailed the parade.
definition 2: (informal) to follow secretly in order to observe.
The policeman tailed the suspect.
derivations: tailless (adj.), taillike (adj.)
Homophone Note
Are you looking for the word tale (a story)? Tail and tale sound alike but have different meanings.
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