Englishئاساسىي لۇغەت
tail
Universal Words
noun, verb
noun
of bird / animal / fish
1 [C] the part that sticks out and can be moved at the back of the body of a bird, an animal or a fish:
The dog ran up, wagging its tail. * The male has beautiful tail feathers.
-tailed
2 (in adjectives) having the type of tail mentioned:
a white-tailed eagle
of plane / spacecraft
3 [C] the back part of a plane, spacecraft, etc:
the tail wing
back / end of sth
4 [C] ~ (of sth) a part of sth that sticks out at the back like a tail:
the tail of a kite / comet
5 [C] ~ (of sth) the last part of sth that is moving away from you:
the tail of the storm / procession
seealsoTAILEND
jacket
6 (tails) [pl.] (also tailcoat [C]) a long jacket divided at the back below the waist into two pieces that become narrower at the bottom, worn by men at very formal events:
The men all wore top hat and tails.
seealsoCOAT-TAILS, SHIRTTAIL
compareDINNERJACKET, MORNINGCOAT
side of coin
7 (tails) [U] the side of a coin that does not have a picture of the head of a person on it, used as one choice when a coin is TOSSED to decide sth
compareHEADSn.(5)
person who follows sb
8 [C] (informal) a person who is sent to follow sb secretly and find out information about where that person goes, what they do, etc:
The police have put a tail on him.
seealsoPONYTAIL
tailless adjective:
Manx cats are tailless.
IDIOMS
on sb's tail (informal) following behind sb very closely, especially in a car:
There's been a white van sitting on my tail for the past ten miles.
the tail (is) wagging the dog used to describe a situation in which the most important aspect is being influenced and controlled by sb/sth that is not as important
turn tail to run away from a fight or dangerous situation:
When they heard the sirens, they turned tail and ran.
with your tail between your legs (informal) feeling ashamed, embarrassed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished
moreatBRIGHT-EYED, HEADn., NOSEn., STINGn.
verb [VN] to follow sb closely, especially in order to watch where they go and what they do
SYNSHADOW:
A private detective had been tailing them for several weeks.
IDIOMS see TOPv.
PHRASALVERBS
tail away / off (especially BrE) to become smaller or weaker:
The number of tourists tails off in October. * 'But why...?' Her voice tailed away.
tail back (of traffic) to form a tailback:
Traffic tailed back five miles from the scene of the accident.
