tailgate

[ teyl-geyt ]

/ ˈteɪlˌgeɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tailgate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the board or gate at the back of a wagon, truck, station wagon, etc., which can be removed or let down for convenience in loading or unloading.

verb (used without object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

to follow or drive hazardously close to the rear of another vehicle.

verb (used with object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

to follow or drive hazardously close to the rear of (another vehicle).

adjective

pertaining to or set up on a tailgate: a tailgate picnic before the football game.

Origin of tailgate

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; tail¹ + gate¹

Words nearby tailgate

tailboard, tailbone, tailed, tailed frog, tailfirst, tailgate, tailgater, tailing, tailings, taille, tailleferre

Definition for tailgate (2 of 2)

tailgate ²

[ teyl-geyt ]

/ ˈteɪlˌgeɪt /

noun Jazz.

a style of playing the trombone, especially in Dixieland jazz, distinguished especially by the use of melodic counterpoint and long glissandi.

Origin of tailgate

First recorded in 1945–50; so called from the usual seat of trombonists in trucks carrying musicians during a parade

Example sentences from the Web for tailgate

Except for the unhappy expressions on their faces, they looked like they had settled in for a tailgate party.

Pop Culture and the Recession |David Frum |April 30, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
A number of adults at the Tailgate Party are wearing orange T-shirts printed with the words “See You at the Pole Event Staff.”

See You at the Pole: Church Youth Gatherings Raise Legal Questions |Katherine Stewart |January 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The truck was decades old, and it lacked a tailgate so the people in back were crammed together to avoid falling out.

Adam Johnson Recalls North Korea: A Country with No Books |Adam Johnson |December 22, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Our cars will chide us if we tailgate and watch us as we drive and jolt us awake if are distracted or drifting off to sleep.

Secrets of Google's Robo-Car |Paul Saffo |October 11, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

There was a tailgate lowered, forming a ramp; above it, the huge double doors opened on a cavern of blackness.

Security |Poul William Anderson
On the tailgate was spread, three times a day, the jolly good meals that pioneer mothers knew how to cook.

Strange Stories of the Great Valley |Abbie Johnston Grosvenor
The hounds were snapping furiously as they tried to leap over the tailgate.

Collectivum |Mike Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for tailgate

tailgate

/ (ˈteɪlˌɡeɪt) /

noun

another name for tailboard

a door at the rear of a hatchback vehicle

verb

to drive very close behind (a vehicle)

Derived forms of tailgate

tailgater, noun

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

tailgate

noun

verb (used without object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

verb (used with object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

adjective

Origin of tailgate

Words nearby tailgate

Definition for tailgate (2 of 2)

noun Jazz.

Origin of tailgate

Example sentences from the Web for tailgate

British Dictionary definitions for tailgate

noun

verb

Derived forms of tailgate

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

tailgate

noun

verb (used without object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

verb (used with object), tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.

adjective

Origin of tailgate

Words nearby tailgate

Definition for tailgate (2 of 2)

noun Jazz.

Origin of tailgate

Words related to tailgate

Example sentences from the Web for tailgate

British Dictionary definitions for tailgate

noun

verb

Derived forms of tailgate