English

Pronunciation

• (US)
  • /ˈbɑbteɪl/
  • /"bAbteIl/

Noun

1. A short, or deliberately shortened tail.
2. Hence, also said of some animals that have a bobtail, such as certain canines or nags.
3. A tractor which performs without its trailer.

Verb

1. To drive a tractor without its trailer.
   • 2002. David Diamond. The Trucker & The Professor, Wired (magazine), Issue 9.12http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/sheffi.html?pg=2&topic=&topic_set=

     He deposits his trailer at a Marten facility in nearby Stockton, and then drives without the trailer - that's called "bobtailing".

2. To drive a truck or other vehicle without its trailer.
   • 2003. Bergmann Co. Bergmann's Cleaning History:http://www.bergmanns.com/company_history.asp

     W.C. Bergmann was supplementing his meager lamplighter's income by "bobtailing"… picking up laundry and cleaning in his horse drawn truck...

References

• Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition
• TWNA trucking terms and glossary
• What is "bobtailing"?, Facts About Trucks, 2007.

• An animal with its tail bobbed
• A natural bobtail, an animal with a genetically short tail
  • Japanese Bobtail, a breed of cat
  • American Bobtail, a breed of cat
  • A nickname for the Old English Sheepdog
• A Bobtail lizard or skink, species Tiliqua rugosa.