tail off
phrasal verb
tailed off; tailing off; tails off
: to become smaller or quieter in a gradual way
Our productivity tailed off last year.
She started to ask a question and then her voice tailed off.
Examples of tail off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Schweitzer logged 36 starts for the Falcons over his first three NFL seasons before leaving for Washington, where his play began to tail off.
—
Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
But neighbors said the extra measures tailed off about the time Hale was convicted in April 2004.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
The Swift effect was real and talked about a lot during the 2023 season, but all of that tailed off a bit in 2024.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 11 Feb. 2025
The show drew big ratings for a couple years before tailing off but ran for 11 seasons.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tail off
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.
Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
But neighbors said the extra measures tailed off about the time Hale was convicted in April 2004.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
The Swift effect was real and talked about a lot during the 2023 season, but all of that tailed off a bit in 2024.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 11 Feb. 2025
The show drew big ratings for a couple years before tailing off but ran for 11 seasons.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tail off
Cite this Entry
“Tail off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tail%20off. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share