1
: residue separated in the preparation of various products (such as grain or ores)
—usually used in plural
2
: the part of a projecting stone or brick inserted in a wall
Synonyms
Examples of tailing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Led by the Church of England’s Pension Board, the group includes mining company
Newmont
, Dutch bank ING, and the Brumadinho community in Brazil, which was heavily affected by the Vale tailings dam disaster in 2019.
—
Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
There can be a lot of range to these campsites, from better facilities than even a national park has to offer to nothing more than a flat piece of ground next to some old mining tailings.
—Laura Lancaster, Outdoor Life, 19 Oct. 2023
That was a sticking point in court when Hudbay Minerals sought to open its Rosemont Mine and dump the tailings on nearby Forest Service land.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
As a condition imposed by Arizona regulators for taking over the site, South32 spent $30 million cleaning up old mine tailings that were leaching heavy metals into Alum Gulch on the project’s west side.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
The Bayan-Obo district in Inner Mongolia contains the world’s largest rare-earth mine and the world’s largest tailings pond, which has been filled with toxic chemicals since the 1950s.
—Andrew Zaleski, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2023
Mine waste Emergency crews searching for bodies after the collapse of the Brumadinho tailings dam in Brazil in 2019.
—Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 20 July 2023
For dessert, Irene had made banana bread, a no-waste classic: three overripe bananas, vanilla extract made from desiccated beans revived in grain alcohol, chocolate scraps given to her, like mine tailings, by an artisanal chocolatier.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
Waste rock and tailings from mining may also contaminate the soil and water, which, combined with the clearing of forests, contributes to habitat loss and ecosystem damage.
—Carla Delgado, Popular Science, 28 June 2023
See More
Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
There can be a lot of range to these campsites, from better facilities than even a national park has to offer to nothing more than a flat piece of ground next to some old mining tailings.
—Laura Lancaster, Outdoor Life, 19 Oct. 2023
That was a sticking point in court when Hudbay Minerals sought to open its Rosemont Mine and dump the tailings on nearby Forest Service land.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
As a condition imposed by Arizona regulators for taking over the site, South32 spent $30 million cleaning up old mine tailings that were leaching heavy metals into Alum Gulch on the project’s west side.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
The Bayan-Obo district in Inner Mongolia contains the world’s largest rare-earth mine and the world’s largest tailings pond, which has been filled with toxic chemicals since the 1950s.
—Andrew Zaleski, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2023
Mine waste Emergency crews searching for bodies after the collapse of the Brumadinho tailings dam in Brazil in 2019.
—Yusuf Khan, WSJ, 20 July 2023
For dessert, Irene had made banana bread, a no-waste classic: three overripe bananas, vanilla extract made from desiccated beans revived in grain alcohol, chocolate scraps given to her, like mine tailings, by an artisanal chocolatier.
—Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
Waste rock and tailings from mining may also contaminate the soil and water, which, combined with the clearing of forests, contributes to habitat loss and ecosystem damage.
—Carla Delgado, Popular Science, 28 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tailing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near tailing
Cite this Entry
“Tailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tailing. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
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