the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
"The dog wagged its tail enthusiastically after chasing the squirrel down the path."
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
"he deserves a good kick in the butt"
"are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?"
(usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head
"When I flipped the quarter, it landed on tails again for the third time in a row."
the rear part of an aircraft
"The pilot adjusted the rudders on the tail to correct the plane's drift during takeoff."
the rear part of a ship
"The captain ordered all hands to clear the deck near the tail before docking."
The caudal appendage of an animal that is attached to its posterior and near the anus.
"The will included a tail that restricted the family estate to descendants only, excluding any collateral relatives."
Limitation of inheritance to certain heirs.
In plain English: A tail is the long, thin part at the back end of an animal's body that it can often move around.
"The dog wagged its tail happily when I gave it a treat."
go after with the intent to catch
"The policeman chased the mugger down the alley"
"the dog chased the rabbit"
remove the stalk of fruits or berries
"She carefully snipped off the stem from each strawberry before placing them in the bowl."
To follow and observe surreptitiously.
"He parked his car down the street to tail the suspect until he reached his apartment building."
In plain English: To tail someone means to follow them closely and secretly, usually to watch what they do.
"The dog began to tail its owner closely when she left the house."
Limited; abridged; reduced; curtailed.
"The company had to tail its marketing budget after the unexpected drop in revenue."
In plain English: Tail describes something that is at the very end or last part of a line or group.
"The tail light on my car was broken, so I drove carefully behind the long line of vehicles."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe something that has been shortened or cut down, often implying the removal of less important parts rather than just being smaller in size. It is frequently applied to stories, versions of events, or lists where content has been deliberately trimmed for brevity.
A Chinese constellation coinciding with the tail of Scorpius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and the tail of Azure Dragon.
"The ancient navigators consulted the star chart to identify the Tail mansion as they sailed through waters guarded by the Azure Dragon's celestial counterpart."
The word "tail" comes from Old English tæġl, which originally meant "hair" or "fiber." It traveled into modern English to refer specifically to the hair at the end of an animal's body.