tail
- noun
- /teɪl/
- All the time, he watched for a tail, either driving or on foot.
So, so today America is in the lead, but but China as a country is is sort of hot on our tails.
- So, so today America is in the lead, but but China as a country is is sort of hot on our tails.
Examples
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We had a tail on him and his mule for six months, but we couldn't make the plant.
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Secret Service Special Agent Andrea Peacock is on the tail of Matt Cox and Rebecca Hawk, two of the most wanted financial fugitives.
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I know the cops are on our tail.
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You were frightened, and it may be that the person who struck you was on your tail again.
Fiction book (1994) -
Guys, we've got a tail.
-
He set up a meeting, but we got to get the army off our tail.
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Half the German army's on our tail, and you want me to go to Berlin?
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"He's been on her tail too long for it to be coincidence."
Fiction book (1991) -
The detective kept a close tail on the suspect's movements throughout the investigation.
-
After several weeks of surveillance, we discovered that the tail was working for a rival agency.
Synonyms
A police officer who investigates crimes and finds out what happened
A person who secretly collects information for a government or company
A person who follows someone closely, often to learn from them
A person who secretly looks for other people's private information
A person who finds missing people or stolen goods
A detective who works quietly and follows people to find facts
A person who follows someone secretly and tells others what they do
Idioms
Compounds
- UK
A tall marsh plant with a brown sausage-shaped seed head and long flat leaves used for making mats and seats
- Specialized
A small spinning blade at the tail of a helicopter that keeps it from spinning
- Specialized
A market where many rare items, each sold in small numbers, together make a large part of sales
- Specialized
A vertical surface at the plane's tail that helps keep it steady in flight
A small brown and white moth whose caterpillars eat the leaves of fruit and shade trees
- Specialized
A large animal with sharp spines and a brush of stiff hairs at the end of its tail
- Specialized
A group of herbs that have a strong smell and live for many years
- Specialized
A flat surface at the tail of a plane that keeps the nose level and controls up-and-down movement
- Specialized
A thin metal tool with a round taper used to smooth small round holes and curves
- UK
A small brown tree shrew from Malaysia with a bare tail fringed by stiff hairs at the tip
- Specialized
A tail design for an aircraft with four moving parts in an X shape that help control its direction
How Close
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word tail for a person who follows someone comes from the image of an animal's tail staying at the back, so a 'tail' is someone who follows and reports another person's movements.