TAIL FIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tail fin mean? 

• TAIL FIN (noun)
  The noun TAIL FIN has 3 senses:

1. a stabilizer that is part of the vertical tail structure of an airplane

2. one of a pair of decorations projecting above the rear fenders of an automobile

3. the tail of fishes and some other aquatic vertebrates

  Familiarity information: TAIL FIN used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TAIL FIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A stabilizer that is part of the vertical tail structure of an airplane

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

tail fin; tailfin; vertical fin; vertical stabiliser; vertical stabilizer

Hypernyms ("tail fin" is a kind of...):

stabilizer (airfoil consisting of a device for stabilizing an aircraft)

Holonyms ("tail fin" is a part of...):

vertical tail (the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraft)

Sense 2

Meaning:

One of a pair of decorations projecting above the rear fenders of an automobile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fin; tail fin; tailfin

Hypernyms ("tail fin" is a kind of...):

decoration; ornament; ornamentation (something used to beautify)

Holonyms ("tail fin" is a part of...):

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The tail of fishes and some other aquatic vertebrates

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

caudal fin; tail fin

Hypernyms ("tail fin" is a kind of...):

fin (organ of locomotion and balance in fishes and some other aquatic animals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tail fin"):

heterocercal fin (a tail fin with unequal lobes in which the vertebral column turns upward into the larger lobe as in sharks)

homocercal fin (symmetrical tail fin extending beyond the end of the vertebral column as in most bony fishes)

Holonyms ("tail fin" is a part of...):

fish (any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills)