Definitions

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

  • noun Refuse or dross remaining after ore has been processed.
  • noun Architecture The portion of a tailed beam, brick, or board inside a wall.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In elect.: In telegraphy, especially through cables, the discharge current due to the capacity of the line which continues to flow for an appreciable time after the signaling impulse has been received and modifies the character of the latter.
  • noun In automatic teleg., a mark, on the recording-tape of a receiving instrument, which is not caused by the signaling impulse proper but by the discharge current from the line.
  • noun In prospecting for coal, the outcrop of a carbon-carrying stratum at the surface of the ground. Called also smut and blossom. The vein peters out at the surface, or tails away to nothing, but leaves a stain under weathering.
  • noun A reckoning; tally; account.
  • noun In building, same as tail, 5 .
  • noun In surgery, same as tail, 5 .
  • noun plural The parts or a part of any incoherent or fluid material separated as refuse, or separately treated as inferior in quality or value; leavings; remainders; dregs.
  • noun In calico-printing, a fault of impression on some part of the fabric, when the colors are blurred or altogether absent, through some defect in operation or treatment.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Arch.) The part of a projecting stone or brick inserted in a wall.
  • noun (Surg.) Same as Tail, n., 8 (a).
  • noun obsolete Sexual intercourse.
  • noun The lighter parts of grain separated from the seed threshing and winnowing; chaff.
  • noun (Mining) The refuse part of stamped ore, thrown behind the tail of the buddle or washing apparatus. It is dressed over again to secure whatever metal may exist in it. Called also tails.
  • noun (Elec.) A prolongation of current in a telegraph line, due to capacity in the line and causing signals to run together.

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

  • verb Present participle of tail.
  • noun The act of following someone.
  • noun architecture The part of a projecting stone or brick inserted in a wall.
  • noun obsolete sexual intercourse
  • noun obsolete The lighter parts of grain separated from the seed by threshing and winnowing; chaff.

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

  • noun the act of following someone secretly

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tailing.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.