tail vs dock

tail and dock both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
tail	Yes	No	Yes	No
dock	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, dock is a hyponym of tail; that is, dock is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than tail:

tail: the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
dock: a short or shortened tail of certain animals

Other hyponyms of tail include rattle, brush, bob, bobtail, caudal appendage, uropygium, oxtail, fluke, scut, flag.

As verbs, tail and dock are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of tail include bob.

tail (noun)	dock (noun)
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body	the solid bony part of the tail of an animal as distinguished from the hair
the rear part of a ship	a short or shortened tail of certain animals
the rear part of an aircraft	landing in a harbor next to a pier where ships are loaded and unloaded or repaired; may have gates to let water in or out
(usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head	a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on	an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements	a platform where trucks or trains can be loaded or unloaded
any projection that resembles the tail of an animal	any of certain coarse weedy plants with long taproots, sometimes used as table greens or in folk medicine
the time of the last part of something

tail (verb)	dock (verb)
remove or shorten the tail of an animal	maneuver into a dock
remove the stalk of fruits or berries	remove or shorten the tail of an animal
go after with the intent to catch	come into dock
	deduct from someone's wages
	deprive someone of benefits, as a penalty