Tail Back Teɪl Dog Nose Part Side Coin

• the dog ran up, wagging its tail.
• my dog loves to chase his tail.
• the male has beautiful tail feathers.
• it was black from its nose to the tip of its tail.

tail

1. the part that sticks out at the back of the body of a bird, an animal or a fish, which the animal can move from side to side or up and down
• SEE ALSO ponytail
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/ponytail
• The dog ran up, wagging its tail.
• My dog loves to chase his tail.
• The male has beautiful tail feathers.
• It was black from its nose to the tip of its tail.
2. having the type of tail mentioned
• a white-tailed eagle
3. the back part of a plane, spacecraft, etc.
• The plane's tail section had broken off.
4. a part of something that sticks out at the back like a tail
• the tail of a kite
5. the last part of something that is moving away from you
• SEE ALSO tail end
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/tail-end
• the tail of the procession
• the truck at the tail of our convoy
6. 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
• COMPARE dinner jacket
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/dinner-jacket
• The men all wore top hat and tails.
7. 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 something
• COMPARE heads
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/head_1#head_sng_7
8. a person who is sent to follow somebody secretly and find out information about where that person goes, what they do, etc.
• The police have put a tail on him.
9. to be unable to understand something
• I couldn't make head nor tail of what he was saying.
10. to be very busy but in fact achieve very little
11. used to ask somebody which side of a coin they think will be facing upwards when it is tossed in order to decide something by chance
12. if cars, etc. are nose to tail, they are moving slowly in a long line with little space between them
• The traffic was nose to tail for miles.
13. following behind somebody very closely, especially in a car
• There’s been a white van sitting on my tail for the past ten miles.
14. an unpleasant feature that comes at the end of a story, an event, etc. and makes it less good, successful, etc.
15. used to describe a situation in which the most important aspect is being influenced and controlled by somebody/something that is not as important
16. to run away from a fight or dangerous situation
• When they heard the sirens, they turned tail and ran.
17. feeling ashamed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished

Word Origin

• Old English tæg(e)l, from a Germanic base meaning ‘hair, hairy tail’; related to Middle Low German tagel ‘twisted whip, rope's end’. The early sense of the verb (early 16th cent.) was ‘fasten to the back of something’.