tail

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Animals, Biology, Air, Clothes & fashion

tail1 /teɪl/ ●●● S2 W3 noun [countable]  1  animal 动物HBAHB the part that sticks out at the back of an animal’s body, and that it can move 尾巴 The dog wagged its tail. 那条狗摇了摇尾巴。white-tailed/long-tailed etc a white-tailed eagle 白尾雕 →5 see picture at 见图 big cat, horse2. aircraft 飞机TTA the back part of an aircraft 尾部 →5 see picture at 见图 plane3. shirt 衬衫DC the bottom part of your shirt at the back, that you put inside your trousers 后下摆4  back part 末尾部分 [usually singular]BACK OF something the back or last part of something, especially something that is moving away from you 末尾部分，后部〔尤指离你而去的东西〕 We saw the tail of the procession disappearing round the corner. 我们看到队伍的尾巴绕过拐角渐渐消失。5  tails a) [plural]DC a man’s jacket which is short at the front and divides into two long pieces at the back, worn to very formal events 〔男子的〕晚礼服，燕尾服 SYN tailcoat b) [uncountable]PEC spoken said when you are tossing a coin (=throwing it up in the air to decide which of two things you will do or choose) 反面〔抛硬币时说的话〕 OPP heads6. the tail end of something BACK OF somethingthe last part of an event, situation, or period of time 〔某事件、形势或时期的〕尾声，末尾7. be on somebody’s tail informalFOLLOW to be following someone closely 紧跟某人8  follow 跟踪 informalFOLLOW someone who is employed to watch and follow someone, especially a criminal 〔尤指对罪犯的〕盯梢者put a tail on somebody (=order someone to follow another person) 派人跟踪某人9. turn tail informalLEAVE YOUR HOME/COUNTRY to run away because you are too frightened to fight or attack 〔因不敢抵抗或攻击而〕逃跑，转身逃走10. with your tail between your legs EMBARRASSEDembarrassed or unhappy because you have failed or been defeated 〔因失败或被打败而〕夹着尾巴，垂头丧气11. it’s (a case of) the tail wagging the dog informalOPPOSITE/REVERSE used to say that an unimportant thing is wrongly controlling a situation 这是主次颠倒，这是喧宾夺主12. chase tail American English informal to try to get a woman to have sex with you 追女人，求欢n COLLOCATIONSadjectiveslongSome dinosaurs had long necks and equally long tails.shortIts tail is short and pointed.bushy (=with long thick fur)My cat has a soft bushy tail.a prehensile tail technical (=able to hold things)Many monkeys have prehensile tails.verbsa dog wags its tail/its tail wagsDomino rushed to meet her, tail wagging with excitement.a cow/cat etc swishes its tail (=quickly moves it from side to side)The cow wandered off, swishing her tail.tail + NOUNtail feathersThe bird’s wings and tail feathers were a beautiful purple color.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘wave its tail’ or ‘shake its tail’. Say wag its tail.

Examples from the Corpus

tail• Luxurystarved veterans tapped wartime savings to buy record numbers of wraparound windshields and tail fins.• It is a conveyance of dreams: chrome, tail fins, pale blue bodywork.• Can you think of a sympathetic animal with a hairless tail?• Taffy always wags her tail when I come home.• Miller noticed that, among the swallows he studied, the longest tails of the males were also the most symmetrical.• Andersson tackled the question directly by experimentally altering the tail lengths of the males.• When I pedal-turned the tail away from the flames, my door flew open.• the tail of a comet• The crews work their tail off and then only get six hours of rest a day.white-tailed/long-tailed etc• A male long-tailed widow bird floats across his territory displaying his enormous tail.tail2 verb [transitive]  1 informalFOLLOW to follow someone and watch what they do, where they go etc 跟踪，盯…的梢 The police have been tailing him for several months. 警察跟踪他已有几个月了。► see thesaurus at follow2.tail away phrasal verb British English STOP HAPPENINGto tail off 变得越来越少[小]；逐渐消失3.tail back phrasal verb British EnglishTTC if traffic tails back, a long line of cars forms, for example because the road is blocked 形成塞车长龙4 tail off (also tail away British English) phrasal verb a) STOP HAPPENINGto become gradually less, smaller etc, and often stop or disappear completely 变得越来越少[小]；逐渐消失 Profits tailed off towards the end of the year. 利润到年底几乎减为零了。b) written if someone’s voice tails off, it becomes quieter and then stops 〔声音〕变得越来越小〔直至完全消失〕 ‘I didn’t mean ...’ Her voice tailed off in embarrassment. “我不是说……”她很不好意思，声音变得越来越小。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

tail• Cars and small vans, with only disrepair in common, were head to tail, headlights burning, a few yards away.• He claims police have been tailing him for several months.• The emissary of the Barbeques had tailed Mitchell as far as the top of the beach and hesitated to come closer.• When I tailed off he sat nodding, like a doctor considering a diagnosis.• He said it would also be operated with shorter trains, reflecting a tailing off in the capital's explosive population growth.• During the low-water flows, trout fishing was exceptional and has been since, although it has tailed off somewhat.• Over the last week, Hasbro shares ran up as high as 46 3 / 4 before tailing off.• A group of photographers tailed the couple all over London.• That police car has been tailing us for the last 5 miles.Origin tail1 Old English tægel

tail1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1tail2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese  

that sticks Corpus the an back out part of at the

tail

I

tail¹ S2 W3 /teɪl/ noun [countable]1.  ANIMAL the part that sticks out at the back of an animal’s body, and that it can move:
    The dog wagged its tail.
    white-tailed/long-tailed etc
    a white-tailed eagle
2.
   AIRCRAFT .the back part of an aircraft
3.  SHIRT the bottom part of your shirt at the back, that you put inside your trousers
4.  BACK PART  [usually singular] the back or last part of something, especially something that is moving away from you:
    We saw the tail of the procession disappearing round the corner.
5. tails
  a. [plural] a man’s jacket which is short at the front and divides into two long pieces at the back, worn to very formal events
   SYN  tailcoat
  b. [uncountable] spoken said when you are tossing a coin (=throwing it up in the air to decide which of two things you will do or choose)
   OPP  heads
6. the tail end of something the last part of an event, situation, or period of time
7. be on sb’s tail informal to be following someone closely
8.  FOLLOW informal someone who is employed to watch and follow someone, especially a criminal
    put a tail on somebody (=order someone to follow another person)
9. turn tail informal to run away because you are too frightened to fight or attack
10. with your tail between your legs embarrassed or unhappy because you have failed or been defeated
11. it’s (a case of) the tail wagging the dog informal used to say that an unimportant thing is wrongly controlling a situation
12. chase tail American English informal to try to get a woman to have sex with you
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ long Some dinosaurs had long necks and equally long tails.
   ▪ short Its tail is short and pointed.
   ▪ bushy (=with long thick fur) My cat has a soft bushy tail.
   ▪ a prehensile tail technical (=able to hold things) Many monkeys have prehensile tails.
■ verbs
   ▪ a dog wags its tail/its tail wags Domino rushed to meet her, tail wagging with excitement.
   ▪ a cow/cat etc swishes its tail (=quickly moves it from side to side) The cow wandered off, swishing her tail.
■ tail + NOUN
   ▪ tail feathers The bird’s wings and tail feathers were a beautiful purple color.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'wave its tail' or 'shake its tail'. Say wag its tail.

II

tail² verb [transitive]
informal to follow someone and watch what they do, where they go etc:
    The police have been tailing him for several months.
     
tail away phrasal verb British English
  to tail off
tail back phrasal verb
  British English if traffic tails back, a long line of cars forms, for example because the road is blocked
tail off (also tail away British English) phrasal verb
  1. to become gradually less, smaller etc, and often stop or disappear completely:
    Profits tailed off towards the end of the year.
  2. written if someone’s voice tails off, it becomes quieter and then stops:
    ‘I didn’t mean ...’ Her voice tailed off in embarrassment.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ follow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going: The man had followed her home to find out where she lived. | Follow that car! | He hired a detective to follow her.
   ▪ chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape: Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.
   ▪ run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them: I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.
   ▪ stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them: a tiger stalking its prey | He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.
   ▪ pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined way: The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.
   ▪ give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you: One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man. | The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.
   ▪ tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go: Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.
   ▪ track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground: The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert.