1 tailing | Definition of tailing

tailing

noun
tail·​ing | \ ˈtā-liƋ How to pronounce tailing (audio) \

Definition of tailing

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

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Examples of tailing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For one thing, Deranger points out, the cleanup of mines and tailings ponds will eventually require enormous investment. Ian Willms, National Geographic, "This is the world's most destructive oil operation—and it's growing," 11 Apr. 2019 The overall volume of tailings has kept growing for more than 50 years. Ian Willms, National Geographic, "This is the world's most destructive oil operation—and it's growing," 11 Apr. 2019 Donlin is proposing a 2,300-acre fully lined wet tailings storage facility. Author: Elwood Brehmer, Anchorage Daily News, "Final Donlin mine environmental statement released, but doesn’t include agency preference," 28 Apr. 2018 Past lead and zinc mining activities left an estimated 90,000 cubic yards of tailings and waste rock material along the upper reaches of Cold Springs Creek. USA TODAY, "Troll trail, coal train derailment, geyser record: News from around our 50 states," 27 June 2019 Some sites feature massive piles or impoundments of mine waste known as tailings. Matthew Brown, The Seattle Times, "50M gallons of polluted water pours daily from US mine sites," 20 Feb. 2019 The Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in Brazil killed at least 270 people. Alistair Macdonald, WSJ, "Vale Mine Dams Often Lacked Stability Certificates and Full Engineering Records," 13 June 2019 These tailings would cover miles of streams that lead into Davison Canyon, to the northeast. Douglas Main, National Geographic, "In a land of wild cats and scarce water, a battle over mining heats up," 25 Apr. 2019 The Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in Brazil has killed at least 179 people, with hundreds more missing and feared dead. Luciana Magalhaes, WSJ, "Brazilian Prosecutors Probe More Than 100 Dams Following Deadly Collapse," 13 Mar. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tailing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of tailing

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More from Merriam-Webster on tailing

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with tailing

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for tailing

Nglish: Translation of tailing for Spanish Speakers