How to Use tail in a Sentence

tail

1 of 2 verb
Definition of tailnext
Synonyms for tailnext
  • The police had been tailing the suspect for several miles.
  • Cars lined up nose to tail on both sides of the street all the way down to the roadblock.
    — Tony Earley, Harper's Magazine, 20 July 2021
  • Many are blurry or show only an ear or tail at the edge of the frame.
    — Beck Andrew Salgado, Journal Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2023
  • The Taiwanese air force sent fighters to tail the Chinese planes.
    — David Axe, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021
  • Leave the head and tail on, for flavor as well as aesthetics.
    — Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The car was driven at high speeds in an attempt to evade the paparazzi that were tailing them.
    — Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The video shows the airplane flip over from nose to tail before coming to rest upside down.
    — Gregory Yeestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2022
  • There are many more, however, who tail the polls with sometimes less than 1%.
    — Renae Reints, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2019
  • Next, turn the fish end to end and run your knife head to tail along the dorsal fin and backbone, pushing the knife deep enough to bounce the blade off the fish’s rib cage.
    — Michael Stillwell, Popular Mechanics, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Species like Ankylosaurus were covered from snout to tail in armor.
    — Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Mar. 2023
  • The blowhole is the first body part to rise out of the water, followed by the back and tail as the whale dives below the surface in one graceful motion.
    — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, 2 Jan. 2021
  • That might sound a little over the top, but keep in mind that Britt has hired private detectives to tail people for years.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2021
  • The virality of the first tabloid photo encouraged the paparazzi to tail him more.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2021
  • Blue jays measure on average close to 1 foot long from beak to tail with a wingspan a little more than 1 foot wide.
    — René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Hu declined, and Sadiku spent the next two years trying to build a case, dispatching agents to tail his family.
    — The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022
  • Brandan and Mary spent the night together in their shared bed — sleeping top to tail to preserve their chastity.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 1 Aug. 2023
  • As its moniker suggests, the superyacht spans 30 meters from tip to tail, or roughly 98 feet.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 31 Jan. 2022
  • How do tail light and all car indicator standards differ across the globe?
    — Quartz Staff, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
  • Weaver pitched out of the jam by striking out Marlins center fielder Hampson with a cutter that tailed outside of the strike zone.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 14 May 2023
  • Imagine the vision of this powerful wild animal running to you, tail out, shiny and in great shape.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2021
  • As police continued to tail it, someone suddenly hurled a garbage can in front of the police car.
    — Deanese Williams-Harris, chicagotribune.com, 12 Dec. 2020
  • Roughly double the size of the boater's kayak, the curious marine mammal tails the craft, swimming near and under the kayak before pulling by the side of the boat to surface above the water.
    — Henry Chandonnet, Peoplemag, 30 June 2023
  • Their fix was to run lightweight balsa wood cores from tip to tail for the weight savings, and then back that up with two sheets of titanium alloy.
    — Marc Peruzzi, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2022
  • The team will perform a necropsy Monday on the whale, splitting the animal from mouth to tail and taking samples to determine its cause of death.
    — USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024
  • One fan has ensured motorists tailing his car will see a tribute to Bergeron’s legacy.
    — Greg McKenna, BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
  • Later, we were tailed by a unit from the Taliban intelligence section.
    — Victor Blue, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Sporting the longest, densest fur among all cats, this feline wonder is decked out with fur nearly twice as long on their belly and tail than on their top and sides.
    — Anna Nordseth, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2023
  • The result is the duckiest possible version of a duck: dark, crisp, glossy skin surrounding dark, tender meat, from tip to tail.
    — Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2022
  • On Instagram, a video of the orcas tailing Kriz’s boat showed two of them tidily detaching both rudders.
    — Rachel Riederer, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2023
  • According to the lawsuit filed this week, the deputy abandoned the roadside confrontation, hopped in his cruiser and started tailing Brock.
    — Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
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tail

2 of 2 noun
  • The town’s oval wall is the body, while the north gate acts as its tail.
    — Story, CNN, 6 Apr. 2023
  • The males fan their tails and pump their air sacs up and down.
    — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 11 Jan. 2024
  • The stinger got very close to hitting the boys with its tail. ...
    — Mark Price, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Curtis is standing next to the gap, the tail of one of the twin snakes.
    — Hazlitt, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Take a chunk of the cake scraps, and attach it to the back of the cake to form the bunny's tail.
    — Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2024
  • So, the curved shape that made the question mark could be a tidal tail.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Taylor is the latest to make a case for the whale tail.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024
  • Mule deer got their name from their rope-like tail, which has a black tip.
    — Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023
  • A lot of people do not like to see kittens be held by the tail.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023
  • But this is at least a first measuring stick to the long tail.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Trump comes now trailing new problems like cans tied to the tail of a dog.
    — Nr Editors, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023
  • Oh, the mom of the boy with the ailing pink kite, smiled as Deale fastened a red tail to her son’s kite.
    — Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
  • The Great Pyrenees sustained tail and ear injuries in the process.
    — Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 4 Dec. 2023
  • Their tails are ringed, with a white tuft at the tip, and act as a rudder as a cheetah runs.
    — Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2023
  • Most rain jackets list their sizes according to the length of a dog's body from the neck to the bottom of the tail.
    — Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024
  • Make one layer cake for the hen, then make cupcakes for her head and tail.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Mar. 2023
  • Cizek had hooked the gator in its tail, and when the massive tail broke the surface, they were blown away by its size.
    — Outdoor Life, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Be sure to look for ticks around the tail, ear and eyelids, and under the front legs, back legs and between the toes.
    — Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024
  • But the long tail that film has cast will be part of the celebration as well.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
  • The orientation of a single bond in the tail of BMAL1 can shorten the day.
    — Quanta Magazine, 10 Oct. 2023
  • It is made in a large kettle of the heads, tail, feet, liver, heart, tongue, &c. of the animals.
    — Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 27 Oct. 2023
  • As soon as the dog was pulled back over, he is seen trotting away, wagging his tail.
    — Li Cohen, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Its six hinging props are spaced on two extensions to the front, two on the wingtips, and two attached to the tail.
    — Marc Wortman, Rolling Stone, 25 Dec. 2023
  • Finally, around the video’s three-minute mark, the coyote turns tail and slinks into the brush.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 31 Jan. 2024
  • There is a very long tail of businesses that are very hard to invest in.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Romance The pre-Christmas snaps come on the tail of a successful year for Gomez.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 25 Dec. 2023
  • As the camera pans out, an even larger gator is seen pulling the dead reptile around in the water by the tip of its tail.
    — Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Starting at the tail, gently pull up and remove the fish’s skeleton.
    — Domenica Marchetti, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • But perhaps the franchise would be eating its own tail at that point.
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2023
  • So why were their eyes—and their whiskers, limbs, and tails—twitching hundreds of thousands of times each day?
    — Amanda Gefter, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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