trailer

[trey-ler]

noun

1. a large van or wagon drawn by an automobile, truck, or tractor, used especially in hauling freight by road.

2. Also called travel trailer. a vehicle attached to an automobile and used as a mobile home or place of business, usually equipped with furniture, kitchen facilities, bathroom, etc.

3. a person or thing that trails.

4. a trailing plant.

5. a short promotional film composed of clips showing highlights of a movie due for release in the near future.

6. blank film at the end of a reel or strip of film, for winding off the film in a motion-picture camera or projector.

7. Ceramics.,  a can with a spout, used in slip trailing.

trailer

/ ˈtreɪlə /

noun

1. a road vehicle, usually two-wheeled, towed by a motor vehicle: used for transporting boats, etc

2. the part of an articulated lorry that is drawn by the cab

3. a series of short extracts from a film, used to advertise it in a cinema or on television

4. a person or thing that trails

5. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): caravan. a large enclosed vehicle capable of being pulled by a car or lorry and equipped to be lived in

Word History and Origins

Origin of trailer¹

First recorded in 1580–90; trail + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The trailer shows several women — including those portrayed by Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Berkley and Judith Light — seeking the services of “the best divorce lawyers in town.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The trailer for the Celebrity Traitors shows the celebrities expressing their excitement as they are driven to Ardross Castle in Inverness.

Read more on BBC

When Ms Hastings saw the trailer for the film, she said she was "in tears" because she "finally saw raw representation of my condition on screen".

Read more on BBC

A nonprofit that provides hot meals, coffee and clothing to homeless Southern Californians is struggling to recover after its supply trailer was ransacked.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Three first-responder nurses during the pandemic live in a hastily planned trailer park near the San Bernardino hospital where all day, every day they confront the comatose and the dying.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mobile home