Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A hinged part that extends across the rear of a pickup truck or other vehicle and can be folded down or to a horizontal position for loading and unloading.
  • noun One of the pair of gates downstream in a canal lock.
  • intransitive verb To drive so closely behind (another vehicle) that one cannot stop or swerve with ease in an emergency.
  • intransitive verb To follow another vehicle too closely.
  • intransitive verb To participate in a tailgate party.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A hinged board or hatch at the rear of a vehicle that can be lowered for loading and unloading; a tailboard.
  • noun UK The hinged rear door of a hatchback.
  • noun Either of the downstream gates in a canal lock.
  • verb automotive To drive dangerously close behind another vehicle
  • verb To follow another person through access control on their access, rather than on one’s own credentials. Especially when entering a door controlled by a card reader.
  • verb finance (of a broker) To privately purchase or sell a security immediately after trading in the same security for a client.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a gate at the rear of a vehicle; can be lowered for loading
  • verb follow at a dangerously close distance

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From tail + gate.

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