tail
/teɪl/noun
उच्चारण टेल
पूँछ, दुम
Basic wordPYP · asked 5 times
Asked in previous papers
as idiom, synonym
- 1
[C]
the part that sticks out and can be moved at the back of the body of a bird, an animal or a fish
पूँछ, दुम
- The dog wagged its tail.
- The peacock spread its magnificent tail as the rain began.
- The cat's tail swished from side to side.
+ 2 more examples
- A monkey's long tail helps it balance.
- The puppy chased its own tail.
Opposite head
- 2
- 3
[pl.] tails
the side of a coin that does not have a picture of the head of a person on it
(सिक्के का) पट
- Heads or tails?
- India lost the toss when the coin landed tails.
- Call tails if you want to win the toss.
+ 2 more examples
- The coin landed on tails.
- It was tails, so we batted second.
- 1
[T] ~ sb
to follow somebody closely, especially in order to watch where they go
पीछा करना
- The police tailed the suspect.
- A detective tailed the clerk for a week to see where he went.
- A man in a grey coat tailed her through the market.
+ 2 more examples
- The detective was tailing the suspect from the station.
- They tailed the car until it stopped.
§Structures (grammar patterns) 5
tail of + animal
The part at the back of an animal's body. Use the tail of the dog or the dog's tail.
जानवर के शरीर के पिछले हिस्से के लिए 'the dog's tail' या 'the tail of the dog' आता है।
- The puppy wagged its tail when Radhika came home.
tail of + thing
Tail also describes the last part of anything long: the tail of a comet, the tail of a queue.
Tail किसी लंबी चीज़ के अंतिम हिस्से के लिए भी आता है, जैसे धूमकेतु या कतार की पूँछ।
- We stood at the tail of the queue for the ticket.
tail + person (verb)
To tail someone is to follow them closely and secretly.
किसी को 'tail' करने का अर्थ है चुपके से उसका पीछा करना।
- Detectives tailed the suspect to the station.
heads or tails
In a coin toss, heads is the side with a head and tails is the other. The word is plural.
सिक्का उछालते समय heads और tails बोला जाता है; यह plural शब्द है।
- The captain called tails and won the toss.
tail off / tail away
To tail off is to become gradually less or weaker.
'Tail off' का अर्थ धीरे-धीरे कम या कमज़ोर होना है।
- His voice tailed off when he saw the principal.
+Collocations 4
adjective + tail
longbushyshortwaggingfeathery
- The squirrel has a bushy tail.
verb + tail
wagswishtwistpullcut off
- The cow swished her tail to drive away flies.
tail + noun
lightfinwindfeatherend
- The car's tail light was broken.
tail between legs
with his tail between his legsturn tailchase one's tail
- He came back with his tail between his legs after losing.
“More examples 5
- The peacock spread its beautiful tail in the rain.
बारिश में मोर ने अपनी सुंदर पूँछ फैला दी।
- The comet's tail was visible for several nights.
धूमकेतु की पूँछ कई रातों तक दिखाई देती रही।
- The batting tail collapsed and India lost the match.
निचले क्रम के बल्लेबाज़ ढह गए और भारत मैच हार गया।
- A police jeep tailed the minister's car through the crowd.
पुलिस की एक जीप भीड़ में मंत्री की गाड़ी के पीछे-पीछे चलती रही।
- The rumours began to tail off after the official statement.
आधिकारिक बयान के बाद अफ़वाहें धीरे-धीरे थम गईं।
!Common mistakes 3
✗ I could not make head and tail of the lecture.
✓ I could not make head or tail of the lecture.
The idiom is head or tail.
Idiom 'make head or tail of' है, 'head and tail' नहीं।
✗ The captain called head and won the toss.
✓ The captain called heads and won the toss.
In a coin toss, the call is heads or tails.
सिक्का उछालने में 'heads' या 'tails' बोला जाता है, 'head' नहीं।
✗ The dog is wagging its tail since I came in.
✓ The dog has been wagging its tail since I came in.
With since, use the present perfect continuous.
'Since' के साथ present perfect continuous आता है।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
Tail and end both mean the last part, but tail often suggests something hanging behind.
Tail और end दोनों आख़िरी हिस्सा हैं, पर tail प्रायः पीछे लटकते हिस्से को दर्शाती है।
The part that extends behind, as an animal's or a comet's.
पीछे फैला हुआ हिस्सा, जैसे जानवर या धूमकेतु की पूँछ।
- The monkey has a long tail.
The back part of a place or vehicle, a more neutral word.
किसी जगह या वाहन का पिछला हिस्सा; अधिक तटस्थ शब्द।
- Sit in the rear of the bus.
The point where something stops.
वह बिंदु जहाँ कोई चीज़ समाप्त होती है।
- We reached the end of the road.
¶Idioms 3
turn tail
to run away from a fight or a dangerous situation
दुम दबाकर भागना
- The thieves turned tail when they saw the police.
cannot make head or tail of sth
to be unable to understand something
कुछ भी समझ न आना
- I cannot make head or tail of these instructions.
(with) your tail between your legs
feeling ashamed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished
(हार या शर्म से) दुम दबाकर
- The team went home with their tail between their legs.
- He left the meeting with his tail between his legs.
→Phrasal verbs 1
tail off
to become smaller or weaker
(धीरे-धीरे) घटना, कम होते जाना
- Sales tailed off after the festive season.
- His voice tailed off into silence.
≈Synonyms and antonyms
?Which word?
Homophone, asked very often: tail (of an animal) and tale (a story).
Homophone में यह बहुत पूछा जाता है: tail (पूँछ) और tale (कहानी)।
“Collocations, idioms and sayings
Turn tail, cannot make head or tail of, with your tail between your legs (ashamed after defeat), chase your own tail (be busy without achieving anything).
Idioms: turn tail, cannot make head or tail of, with your tail between your legs (हार के बाद शर्मिंदा), chase your own tail (बिना कुछ पाए व्यस्त रहना)।
✓In the exam
General knowledge
Science: a comet's tail always points away from the sun.
विज्ञान में धूमकेतु की पूँछ हमेशा सूर्य से दूर की ओर होती है।