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Definition of "fantail" [fan•tail]

  • Any of a breed of domestic pigeons having a rounded, fan-shaped tail. (noun)
  • Any of several birds of the genus Rhipidura of eastern Asia and Australia, having a long, fan-shaped tail. (noun)
  • Any of a breed of goldfish having a wide, fanlike double tail fin. (noun)
  • A fanlike tail or end. (noun)
  • Nautical The stern overhang of a ship. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "fantail" in a sentence
  • "SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights."
  • "I have seen more people fishing off the "fantail" of their jetskis."
  • "Now that precisely coincides with the 'fantail' deer which some old-time hunters of my acquaintance say they have killed in the Black Hills country, though scientists say there never was any fantail deer."