TAILING Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

tailing 1 of 2

noun

ˈtā-liŋ

Definition of tailing

as in pursuit

the act of going after or in the tracks of another the reporter's constant tailing of the candidate resulted in an exclusive scoop

Synonyms & Similar Words

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tailing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of tail

as in chasing

to go after or on the track of detectives tailed the suspect to see where he was going at that time of the evening

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tailing

Noun

What starts as harmless tailing quickly evolves into something much more dangerous — Bret’s high-speed pursuit isn’t subtle, and Robert turns the tables on him by pulling over and then tapping Bret’s Mercedes 450SL from behind. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026 Unlike other hard metals, tungsten is largely nontoxic, but the byproducts from mining it—called tailings—contain other harmful metals including arsenic, copper, zinc and lead and can leach into the environment. — Ari Sen, Scientific American, 13 June 2026

Verb

The psychedelic sequence that follows, punctuated by three European henchmen tailing the girls in a black SUV, is funny enough. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026 According to Watson, Martinez was riding with four or five other motorcyclists when a red Audi began tailing the group. — Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tailing

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tailing

Noun

The department maintains an early intervention system that flags officers based on risk factors, such as a relatively high volume of civilian complaints, frequent use of force, and involvement in preventable traffic collisions or pursuits.

— Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Vanity and the sometimes painful pursuit of beauty have never really been gendered ideas.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of pursuit

Verb

International funding, Patil says, means long waits, complicated contracts and co-production treaties, and Indian filmmakers end up chasing the same grants as professionals from wealthier countries.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
The company said its problems would not be solved by chasing unhealthy sales volume or short-term revenue.

— Ryan Baker, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of chasing

Noun

The Fitbit Air is a budget-friendly, screen-free band focused primarily on health tracking, comfort, and long battery life.

— Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Chris Diaz, director of legislative tracking at the Voting Rights Lab, said the group has seen several versions of the Republican president’s proposals passed by his allies in the states.

— Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of tracking

Verb

Neela Jolene stars as a young sound engineer grieving her recording-artist father while pursuing a legendary stage of her own.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
Coffman said Aurora is pursuing a boundary adjustment that would transfer the property into Aurora's jurisdiction.

— Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of pursuing

Noun

But in the second half, and with the Seahawks trailing, Fleury opened up the offense, much to the team’s benefit.

— Andrew Destin, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Van Dam said the Dutch were surprised to win the right to host the Solheim Cup, with golf trailing well behind in the list of most popular sports in the Netherlands fronted by soccer, tennis and field hockey.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of trailing

Verb

To support defense, France, Greece, and Italy in 2024 launched Operation Aspides, a naval mission to protect the EU’s interests in the Red Sea and surrounding trade corridors, including escorting commercial ships.

— Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Oct. 2026
The retaliation begins outside the chapel, where Ellen uses her bow to quietly pick off the guard escorting the hostages, allowing the women to escape and seize his weapons.

— Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of escorting

Noun

In the 1970s, researchers developed another version of applying color to the brain called anterograde and retrograde tracing.

— Kimberlee D'Ardenne, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026
Finding people at high risk of incubating the Bundibugyo virus, also known as contact tracing, has proved difficult in Congo.

— CONSTANT SAME BAGALWA, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of tracing

Verb

In September, a drone that violated Lithuanian airspace was shot down over the nation’s territory for the first time, following similar incidents in Latvia and Estonia.

— Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 9 Oct. 2026
The European Research Council supported the research through the H2Bro project, following Rothschild’s ERC Advanced Grant awarded in 2023.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026