Tail — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb adjective /ˈtāl/

Meaning & Definition of Tail

Tail (noun)

  1. the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal
  2. something resembling an animal's tail in shape or position
  3. a luminous stream of particles, gases, or ions extending from a comet especially in the antisolar direction
  4. entail

Tail (verb)

  1. to follow for purposes of surveillance
  2. to connect end to end
  3. to remove the tail of (an animal), dock

Tail (adjective)

  1. limited as to tenure, entailed

Tail (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a body of employees or servants who accompany and wait on a person

    "the tail that accompanies the prince wherever he goes"

    similar: cortege, entourage, following, posse, retinue, suite, train
    related: crew, personnel, staff, court, assistant, attendant, helper, retainer

  2. the part of the body upon which someone sits

    "get your tail in here"

    similar: backside, behind, booty (slang), bottom, breech, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, caboose, can, cheeks, derriere, duff, fanny, fundament, hams, haunches, heinie (slang), hunkers, keister (slang), nates, posterior, rear, rear end, rump, seat, tail end, tush (slang)
    related: beam, stern, moon (slang)

  3. a behind part or surface

    "the tail of the ship"

    similar: back, rear, reverse
    opposite: face, forehead, forepart, front

Tail (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to go after or on the track of

    "detectives tailed the suspect to see where he was going at that time of the evening"

    similar: bird-dog, chase, course, dog, follow, hound, pursue, run, shadow, tag, trace, track, trail, run after
    related: accompany, chaperone, escort, hunt, search (for), seek, eye, observe, watch
    opposite: guide, lead, pilot
    near: head

Related Entry: Tail end (noun)

Tail end is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for tail end, not for tail.

  1. the part of the body upon which someone sits

    "all I saw was his tail end vanishing around the door"

    similar: backside, behind, booty (slang), bottom, breech, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, caboose, can, cheeks, derriere, duff, fanny, fundament, hams, haunches, heinie (slang), hunkers, keister (slang), nates, posterior, rear, rear end, rump, seat, tail, tush (slang)
    related: beam, stern, moon (slang)

Related Entry: Tail (off) (verb)

Tail (off) is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for tail (off), not for tail.

  1. as in give out, fade (away)

    similar: evaporate, fade (away), fritter (away), give out, melt (away), peter (out), vanish, compress, condense, constrict, contract, slacken, slow (down), abate, decline, decrease, de-escalate, die (away or down or out), diminish, drain (away), drop (off), dwindle, ease, ebb, fall, fall away, lessen, let up, lower, moderate, pall, phase down, ratchet (down), recede, relent, remit, shrink, subside, taper, taper off, wane, alleviate, relax, flag, sink, weaken, cave (in), collapse, deflate
    opposite: accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mount, mushroom, pick up, rise, snowball, soar, swell, wax, appear, emerge, show up, blow up, distend, elongate, lengthen

Related Entry: Tail ends (noun)

Tail ends is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for tail ends, not for tail.

  1. the part of the body upon which someone sits

    "all I saw was his tail end vanishing around the door"

    similar: backsides, behinds, booties (slang), bottoms, breeches, bums, buns, buttocks, butts, cabooses, cans, cheeks, derrieres, duffs, fannies, fundaments, hams, haunches, heinies (slang), hunkers, keisters (slang), nates, posteriors, rear ends, rears, rumps, seats, tails, tushes (slang)
    related: beams, sterns, moons (slang)

Related Entry: Turn tail (phrase)

Turn tail is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for turn tail, not for tail.

  1. to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

    "You can't go around starting fights and then turning tail when they don't go your way."

    similar: bolt, break, bug out, flee, fly, hightail (it), retreat, run, run away, run off, skedaddle, beat a retreat, beat it, make tracks
    related: abscond, clear out, decamp, elope, escape, get (away), get out, lam, light out, make off, mizzle (chiefly British), scarper (British), scat, scram, skip (out), skirr
    near: beard, brave, confront, dare, defy, face, abide, dwell, hang around, linger, remain, stay, stick around, tarry

Related Entry: E-tail (noun)

E-tail is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for e-tail, not for tail.

  1. as in merchandising, retailing

    similar: merchandising, retailing, wholesaling, dealings, horse-trading, bartering, black market, gray market, free trade, business, commerce, marketplace, trade, traffic

Related Entry: Turned tail (phrase)

Turned tail is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for turned tail, not for tail.

  1. to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

    "You can't go around starting fights and then turning tail when they don't go your way."

    similar: bolted, broke, bugged out, fled, flew, hightailed (it), ran, ran away, ran off, retreated, skedaddled, beat a retreat, beat it, made tracks
    related: absconded, cleared out, decamped, eloped, escaped, got (away), got out, lammed, lit, made off, mizzled (chiefly British), scarpered (British), scatted, scrammed, skipped (out), skirred
    near: bearded, braved, confronted, dared, defied, faced, abided, dwelled, hung around, lingered, remained, stayed, stuck around, tarried

Related Entry: Turns tail (phrase)

Turns tail is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for turns tail, not for tail.

  1. to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

    "You can't go around starting fights and then turning tail when they don't go your way."

    similar: bolts, breaks, bugs out, flees, flies, hightails (it), retreats, runs, runs away, runs off, skedaddles, beats a retreat, beats it, makes tracks
    related: absconds, clears out, decamps, elopes, escapes, gets (away), gets out, lams, lights out, makes off, mizzles (chiefly British), scarpers (British), scats, scrams, skips (out), skirrs
    near: beards, braves, confronts, dares, defies, faces, abides, dwells, hangs around, lingers, remains, stays, sticks around, tarries

Related Entry: Turning tail (phrase)

Turning tail is a different word from Tail. The synonyms below are for turning tail, not for tail.

  1. to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

    "You can't go around starting fights and then turning tail when they don't go your way."

    similar: bolting, breaking, bugging out, fleeing, flying, hightailing (it), retreating, running, running away, running off, skedaddling, beating a retreat, beating it, making tracks
    related: absconding, clearing out, decamping, eloping, escaping, getting (away), getting out, lamming, lighting out, making off, mizzling (chiefly British), scarpering (British), scatting, scramming, skipping (out), skirring
    near: bearding, braving, confronting, daring, defying, facing, abiding, dwelling, hanging around, lingering, remaining, staying, sticking around, tarrying

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Tail

The most common words with a similar meaning to Tail:

Slang: booty, heinie, keister, tush
cortege, entourage, following, posse, retinue, suite, train, backside, behind, bottom, breech, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, caboose, can, cheeks, derriere, duff, fanny, fundament, hams, haunches, hunkers, nates, posterior, rear, rear end, rump, seat, tail end, back, reverse, bird-dog, chase, course, dog, follow, hound

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Tail

Words with the opposite meaning of Tail:

face, forehead, forepart, front, guide, lead, pilot

Related Words for Tail

crew, personnel, staff, court, assistant, attendant, helper, retainer, beam, stern, moon, accompany, chaperone, escort, hunt, search (for), seek, eye, observe, watch

Near Antonyms of Tail

head

Word Forms of Tail

Inflections: tailed, tailing, tails

Derived words: tailed (adjective), tailless (adjective), taillike (adjective), tailer (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Tail

Middle English, from Old English tægel; akin to Old High German zagal tail, Middle Irish dúal lock of hair

First known use: before 12th century

Words & Phrases Containing Tail

tail end, tail covert, tail fin, tail off, brown-tail moth, draggle-tail

Frequently Asked Questions about Tail

What does "Tail" mean?

"Tail" means the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal. As an a noun, a verb and an adjective, it is defined as: the rear end or a process or prolongation of the rear end of the body of an animal. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Tail"?

Other words for "Tail" include cortege, entourage, following, posse, retinue, suite, train and backside. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Tail" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Tail"?

There are 72 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Tail". Common alternatives include cortege, entourage, following, posse, retinue, suite, train, backside, behind and booty.

What is a slang word for "Tail"?

Slang words for "Tail" include booty, heinie, keister and tush.

What is the opposite of "Tail"?

Antonyms of "Tail" include face, forehead, forepart, front, guide, lead and pilot. Near antonyms include head.

How do you use "Tail" in a sentence?

Examples of "Tail" in a sentence: "the tail that accompanies the prince wherever he goes"; "get your tail in here"; "the tail of the ship".

Is "Tail" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Tail" can be used as a noun, a verb and an adjective, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Tail"?

"Tail" is pronounced /ˈtāl/.