Word · Frequency #2604
tail
尾随；跟踪；盯梢
go after with the intent to catch
- 1.
go after with the intent to catch
追踪以捕捉
- 2.
remove or shorten the tail of an animal
去除或缩短动物的尾巴
- 3.
remove the stalk of fruits or berries
去除水果或浆果的梗
剪短（动物）的尾巴；给（动物）断尾；去掉（水果或浆果的）蒂；去蒂；追踪以捕捉；去除或缩短动物的尾巴；去除水果或浆果的梗
In use
A policeman tailed the stolen car until it stopped at a red light.
The security guard noticed a teenager tailing the shoppers and radioed his manager.
She tailed the courier to find out which office received the package.
tail sb
The detective tailed the suspect all day.
侦探整天跟踪嫌疑人。
tail after sb
常用于描述人群跟随。
The children tailed after their teacher.
孩子们跟在老师后面。
Verb forms
base tail · third person tails · -ing tailing · past tailed · past participle tailed
这是一个规则动词，表示跟踪或尾随。
Common mistakes
Connections
Collocations
- tail a suspect
- 跟踪嫌疑犯
- The police tailed the suspect for two days before making an arrest.警方在实施逮捕前跟踪了嫌疑犯两天。
- tail a lamb
- 给羔羊断尾
- The farmer tails the lambs to prevent infections.农民给羔羊断尾以防感染。
- top and tail
- 去掉（果蔬的）两端
- Top and tail the beans before adding them to the salad.把豆子去掉两端后再放入沙拉。
Idioms & figurative uses
- tail between one's legs
- 夹着尾巴；灰溜溜地He left the meeting with his tail between his legs.他夹着尾巴离开了会场。
- the tail wagging the dog
- 本末倒置；小人物掌权The subcommittee is running the whole project—the tail wagging the dog.这个小组委员会在掌管整个项目，真是本末倒置。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
tail 作动词意为“尾随跟踪”，像尾巴一样跟着目标；也指给动物“断尾”或给水果“去蒂”。想象侦探悄悄跟在嫌犯身后，像一条甩不掉的尾巴。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：police surveillance、animal husbandry / pet grooming、cooking and fruit preparation tail 作动词时有多个含义，正式程度和常见场景不完全一样：表示“跟踪、尾随”时多用于口语或新闻报道，常指警方、侦探暗中盯梢；表示“给动物断尾”多用于养殖、宠物美容等场合；表示“给水果或浆果去蒂”则常见于烹饪说明。整体宜看作混合语域，具体含义需根据搭配和语境判断。
Grammar Note
中文释义区分及物和不及物用法。
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都与 tail 押韵，读 /teɪl/：sail、mail、pale、fail、nail、tale。注意 pale 和 tale 拼作 -ale，但发音相同；要小心 teal /tiːl/ 和 tile /taɪl/ 这类形近词，它们发音不同。
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 3，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from AI_FALLBACK, DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WORDNET.