{
    "term": "tail",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "image": "data/images/ma/mammals.png",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "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",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The dog ran up, wagging its tail."
                },
                {
                    "text": "My dog loves to chase his tail."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The male has beautiful tail feathers."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was black from its nose to the tip of its tail."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Animals", "Birds", "Fish and shellfish"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["long", "short", "bushy"],
                "verb + tail": ["flick", "swish", "thrash"],
                "tail + verb": ["swish", "twitch", "wag"],
                "tail + noun": ["bone", "feathers", "fin"],
                "phrases": ["the tip of its/​his/​her tail"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "having the type of tail mentioned",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a white-tailed eagle"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "the back part of a plane, spacecraft, etc.",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The plane's tail section had broken off."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Transport by air"],
            "collocations": {
                "tail + noun": ["section", "fin", "light"],
                "preposition": ["at the tail"],
                "phrases": ["nose to tail"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "a part of something that sticks out at the back like a tail",
            "sensetop": "tail (of something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the tail of a kite"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "tail + noun": ["section", "fin", "light"],
                "preposition": ["at the tail"],
                "phrases": ["nose to tail"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "the last part of something that is moving away from you",
            "sensetop": "tail (of something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the tail of the procession"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the truck at the tail of our convoy"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "tail + noun": ["section", "fin", "light"],
                "preposition": ["at the tail"],
                "phrases": ["nose to tail"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "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",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The men all wore top hat and tails."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Clothes and Fashion"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "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",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Preferences and decisions"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 8,
            "definition": "a person who is sent to follow somebody secretly and find out information about where that person goes, what they do, etc.",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The police have **put a tail on him**."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be unable to understand something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I couldn't make head nor tail of what he was saying."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be very busy but in fact achieve very little",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Difficulty and failure"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "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",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "if cars, etc. are nose to tail, they are moving slowly in a long line with little space between them",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The traffic was nose to tail for miles."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Transport by car or lorry"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "following behind somebody very closely, especially in a car",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "There’s been a white van sitting on my tail for the past ten miles."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "an unpleasant feature that comes at the end of a story, an event, etc. and makes it less good, successful, etc.",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to describe a situation in which the most important aspect is being influenced and controlled by somebody/something that is not as important",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to run away from a fight or dangerous situation",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "When they heard the sirens, they turned tail and ran."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "feeling ashamed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/teɪl/",
                "audio": "ta/tail/tail__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/teɪl/",
                "audio": "ta/tail/tail__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "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’."
}