Standard Lemma guide

foxtail

noun · 14 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F AA1 K S T EY2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A tail of a fox.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A dry spikelet or spikelet seed and flower cluster of some grasses.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A cluster of buds on a cannabis plant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Any of various grasses having bushy seed spikelets that resemble the tail of a fox

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Look at the foxtails growing along the road.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Any of various grasses having bushy seed spikelets that resemble the tail of a fox

species of genus Alopecurus (foxtail grasses).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Any of various grasses having bushy seed spikelets that resemble the tail of a fox

species of Setaria (foxtail millets).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Any of various grasses having bushy seed spikelets that resemble the tail of a fox

Bromus madritensis (foxtail brome).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Any of various grasses having bushy seed spikelets that resemble the tail of a fox

Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Acalypha hispida (chenille plant).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Lycopodiella alopecuroides 9foxtail clubmoss0.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

Wodyetia bifurcata (foxtail palm).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

noun

Meaning 12

A plant having a part resembling the tail of a fox or such spikelet.

An orchid of species Rhynchostylis retusa.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

noun

Meaning 13

The last cinders obtained in the fining process.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: engineering, metallurgy, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

grasses of the genera Alopecurus and Setaria having dense silky or bristly brushlike flowering spikes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: foxtail grass

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: meadowgrass, meadow grass

Narrower terms: meadow foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis, bristlegrass, bristle grass, giant foxtail, yellow bristlegrass, yellow bristle grass, yellow foxtail, glaucous bristlegrass, Setaria glauca, green bristlegrass, green foxtail, rough bristlegrass, bottle-grass, bottle grass, Setaria viridis, foxtail millet, Italian millet, Hungarian grass, Setaria italica

History

Etymology

From Middle English fox-tail. By surface analysis, fox + tail.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: лисича опашка (lisiča opaška) — tail of a fox
  • Dutch: vossenstaart — tail of a fox
  • Finnish: ketunhäntä — tail of a fox
  • French: queue de renard — tail of a fox
  • German: Fuchsschwanz — tail of a fox
  • Italian: coda di volpe — tail of a fox
  • Manx: arbyl shynnee — tail of a fox
  • Polish: lisi ogon — tail of a fox
  • Russian: ли́сий хвост (lísij xvost) — tail of a fox
  • Swedish: rävsvans — tail of a fox
  • Telugu: నక్కతోక (nakkatōka) — tail of a fox
  • Armenian: խոզանուկ (xozanuk) — foxtail grass
  • Bulgarian: класица (klasica) — foxtail grass
  • Chinese Mandarin: 看麥娘 /看麦娘 (kànmàiniáng) — foxtail grass
  • Finnish: puntarpää — foxtail grass
  • Finnish: pantaheinä — foxtail grass
  • French: vulpin — foxtail grass
  • German: Fuchsschwanz — foxtail grass
  • German: Borstenhirse — foxtail grass
  • Japanese: 雀の鉄砲 (suzume no teppō) — foxtail grass
  • Kazakh: қоянқұйрық (qoänqūiryq) — foxtail grass
  • Kazakh: түлкіқұйрық (tülkıqūiryq) — foxtail grass
  • Navajo: zééʼiilwoʼii — foxtail grass
  • Romanian: coada-vulpii — foxtail grass
  • Russian: щети́нник (ščetínnik) — foxtail grass
  • Russian: мыше́й (myšéj) — foxtail grass
  • Spanish: cola de zorro — foxtail grass
  • Swedish: kavle — foxtail grass
  • Telugu: నక్కతోక (nakkatōka) — foxtail grass
  • Turkish: tilkikuyruğu — foxtail grass
  • Ottoman Turkish: تلكی قویروغی (tilki kuyruğu) — foxtail grass
  • Welsh: cynffonwellt — foxtail grass
  • Welsh: cibogwellt — foxtail grass
  • Finnish: tähkä — bushy seed spikelet