tailgate

1
[ teyl-geyt ]
See synonyms for tailgate on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.
  1. to follow or drive hazardously close to the rear of another vehicle.

verb (used with object),tail·gat·ed, tail·gat·ing.
  1. to follow or drive hazardously close to the rear of (another vehicle).

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

Origin of tailgate

1
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; tail1 + gate1

Words Nearby tailgate

Other definitions for tailgate (2 of 2)

tailgate2
[ teyl-geyt ]

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

Origin of tailgate

2
First recorded in 1945–50; so called from the usual seat of trombonists in trucks carrying musicians during a parade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tailgate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tailgate (1 of 2)

tailgate

/ (ˈteɪlˌɡeɪt) /


noun
  1. another name for tailboard

  2. a door at the rear of a hatchback vehicle

verb
  1. to drive very close behind (a vehicle)

Derived forms of tailgate

  • tailgater, noun

British Dictionary definitions for tail gate (2 of 2)

tail gate

noun
  1. a gate that is used to control the flow of water at the lower end of a lock: Compare head gate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012