tail

Word family adjectivetailedtaillessnountailingtailbacktailboardtailgatetailgatertailpiecetailpipetailplanetailracetailskidtailspintailstocktailwheeltail

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

tail1 /teɪl/ S2 W3 noun [countableC] → tale

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, horse

aircraft 飞机TTA the back part of an aircraft 尾部 →5 see picture at 见图 plane

3. 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) [uncountableU]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 heads

Examples from the Corpus

tails• Which do you want, heads or tails?

6. 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

Examples from the Corpus

the tail end of something• At the tail end of the nineteenth century, the Viennese politician Karl Lueger founded his power base on an anti-semitic platform.• I did catch the tail end of them in my youth.• Chapter 5 Saturday morning dawned late for me, and I just caught the tail end of Sport on Four.• They burst out into the tail end of the night.• But this is the tail end of a really big set of stories about royal marriages.• It had been a bumpy ride, through the tail end of a thunderstorm.• I tie my next colour on to the tail end of the first yarn and pull it straight through.• It was the tail end of the season and there was no time for a full-scale tour.

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

Examples from the Corpus

turn tail• If one animal suddenly turns tail, it is liable to be attacked and might get injured.• He caught sight of a few others, but they turned tail and vanished when they saw him through the mist.• She wanted to turn tail and run, but she couldn't have stood herself if she appeared such a coward.

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

Examples from the Corpus

with your tail between your legs• They got scared and ran away with their tail between their legs.• He knows he can not come back with his tail between his legs.• I would go out of the Chamber with my tail between my legs.• And that is when the toughest Bruin team in years sent the Huskies home with their tails between their legs.• Pottz wiped out three waves in a row and crept back in with his tail between his legs.

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 EnglishAmE informal to try to get a woman to have sex with you 追女人，求欢

n 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 ERRORSDon’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 [transitiveT]

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 follow

2.tail away phrasal verbphr v British EnglishBrE STOP HAPPENINGto tail off 变得越来越少[小]；逐渐消失

Examples from the Corpus

tail away• Since then it's tailed away.

3.tail back phrasal verbphr v British EnglishBrETTC if traffic tails back, a long line of cars forms, for example because the road is blocked 形成塞车长龙

Examples from the Corpus

tail back• Traffic tailed back for twelve miles.• Traffic tailed back fourteen miles after police were forced to close the inside lane of the northbound carriageway.

4 tail off (also tail away British EnglishBrE) phrasal verbphr v

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。

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

词汇	tail
释义	tail Word family adjectivetailedtaillessnountailingtailbacktailboardtailgatetailgatertailpiecetailpipetailplanetailracetailskidtailspintailstocktailwheeltail Related topics: Animals, Biology, Air, Clothes & fashion tail1 /teɪl/ ●●● S2 W3 noun [countableC] → tale 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, horse 2. aircraft 飞机TTA the back part of an aircraft 尾部 →5 see picture at 见图 plane 3. 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) [uncountableU]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 heads Examples from the Corpus tails• Which do you want, heads or tails? 6. 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 Examples from the Corpus the tail end of something• At the tail end of the nineteenth century, the Viennese politician Karl Lueger founded his power base on an anti-semitic platform.• I did catch the tail end of them in my youth.• Chapter 5 Saturday morning dawned late for me, and I just caught the tail end of Sport on Four.• They burst out into the tail end of the night.• But this is the tail end of a really big set of stories about royal marriages.• It had been a bumpy ride, through the tail end of a thunderstorm.• I tie my next colour on to the tail end of the first yarn and pull it straight through.• It was the tail end of the season and there was no time for a full-scale tour. 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 Examples from the Corpus turn tail• If one animal suddenly turns tail, it is liable to be attacked and might get injured.• He caught sight of a few others, but they turned tail and vanished when they saw him through the mist.• She wanted to turn tail and run, but she couldn't have stood herself if she appeared such a coward. 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 Examples from the Corpus with your tail between your legs• They got scared and ran away with their tail between their legs.• He knows he can not come back with his tail between his legs.• I would go out of the Chamber with my tail between my legs.• And that is when the toughest Bruin team in years sent the Huskies home with their tails between their legs.• Pottz wiped out three waves in a row and crept back in with his tail between his legs. 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 EnglishAmE informal to try to get a woman to have sex with you 追女人，求欢 n 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 ERRORSDon’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 [transitiveT] 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 follow 2.tail away phrasal verbphr v British EnglishBrE STOP HAPPENINGto tail off 变得越来越少[小]；逐渐消失 Examples from the Corpus tail away• Since then it's tailed away. 3.tail back phrasal verbphr v British EnglishBrETTC if traffic tails back, a long line of cars forms, for example because the road is blocked 形成塞车长龙 Examples from the Corpus tail back• Traffic tailed back for twelve miles.• Traffic tailed back fourteen miles after police were forced to close the inside lane of the northbound carriageway. 4 tail off (also tail away British EnglishBrE) phrasal verbphr v 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。 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
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