tailgate
verb · noun
Simple meaning
A gate at the rear of a vehicle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
taylgaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈteɪlɡeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
automotiveintransitivetransitive
Follow at a dangerously close distance
“It is dangerous to tailgate another vehicle.”
automotiveintransitivetransitive
To drive dangerously close behind another vehicle.
usintransitive
To have a tailgate party.
To follow another person through access control on their access, rather than on one's own credentials, especially when entering a door controlled by a card reader.
noun
automotive
A gate at the rear of a vehicle; can be lowered for loading
The downstream gate in the lock on a canal or river, or in an irrigation system.
us
A celebration, held in a parking lot, with picnic food served out of the back of automobiles or pickup trucks; usually held at sporting events.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Follow at a dangerously close distance
Used this way, tailgate is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“It is dangerous to tailgate another vehicle.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use tailgate
- “It is dangerous to tailgate another vehicle.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: gate at the rear of a vehicle
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.