trail
Americanverb (used with object)
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trails,
present (3rd person singular)
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trailed,
past participle, past
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trailing
present participle
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to drag or let drag along the ground or other surface; draw or drag along behind.
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to bring or have floating after itself or oneself.
a racing car trailing clouds of dust.
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to follow the track, trail, or scent of; track.
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to follow along behind (another), as in a race.
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to mark out, as a track.
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to tread down or make a path through (grass or the like).
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to draw out, as speech; protract.
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Ceramics. to pour (slip) on a biscuit so as to produce a pattern.
verb (used without object)
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trails,
present (3rd person singular)
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trailed,
past participle, past
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trailing
present participle
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to be drawn or dragged along the ground or some other surface, as when hanging from something moving.
Her long bridal gown trailed across the floor.
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to hang down loosely from something.
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to stream from or float after something moving, as dust, smoke, and sparks do.
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to follow as if drawn along.
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to fish by trailing a line from a moving boat; troll.
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to go slowly, lazily, or wearily along.
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to pass or extend in a straggling line.
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to change gradually or wander from a course, so as to become weak, ineffectual, etc. (usually followed by off oraway ).
Her voice trailed off into silence.
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to arrive or be last.
He finally trailed in at 10 o'clock.
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to be losing in a contest.
The home team was trailing 20 to 15.
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to creep or crawl, as a serpent.
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to follow a track or scent, as of game.
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(of a plant) to extend itself in growth along the ground rather than taking root or clinging by tendrils, etc.
noun
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trails
plural
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a path or track made across a wild region, over rough country, or the like, by the passage of people or animals.
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the track, scent, or the like, left by an animal, person, or thing, especially as followed by a hunter, hound, or other pursuer.
- Synonyms:
- spoor
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something that is trailed or that trails behind, as the train of a skirt or robe.
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a stream of dust, smoke, light, people, vehicles, etc., behind something moving.
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Artillery. the part of a gun carriage that rests on the ground when the piece is unlimbered.
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Architecture. a running vine, leaf, or tendril ornament, as in a Gothic molding.
idioms
verb
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to drag or stream, or permit to drag or stream along a surface, esp the ground
her skirt trailed
she trailed her skipping rope
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to make (a track or path) through (a place)
to trail a way
to trail a jungle
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to chase, follow, or hunt (an animal or person) by following marks or tracks
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to lag or linger behind (a person or thing)
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(intr) (esp of plants) to extend or droop over or along a surface
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(intr) to be falling behind in a race or competition
the favourite is trailing at the last fence
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(tr) to tow (a boat, caravan, etc) behind a motor vehicle
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(tr) to carry (a rifle) at the full length of the right arm in a horizontal position, with the muzzle to the fore
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(intr) to move wearily or slowly
we trailed through the city
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(tr) (on television or radio) to advertise (a future programme) with short extracts
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to invite a quarrel by deliberately provocative behaviour
noun
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a print, mark, or marks made by a person, animal, or object
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the act or an instance of trailing
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the scent left by a moving person or animal that is followed by a hunting animal
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a path, track, or road, esp one roughly blazed
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something that trails behind or trails in loops or strands
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the part of a towed gun carriage and limber that connects the two when in movement and rests on the ground as a partial support when unlimbered
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engineering the distance between the point of contact of a steerable wheel and a line drawn from the swivel pin axis to the ground
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(on television or radio) an advertisement for a future programme
Synonym Usage
See path.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nontrailingadjective
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trail-lessadjective
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traillessadjective
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untrailedadjective
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untrailingadjective
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trailinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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trailsimple
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trailssimple
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have trailedperfect
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has trailedperfect
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am trailingprogressive
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are trailingprogressive
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is trailingprogressive
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have been trailingperfect progressive
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has been trailingperfect progressive
Past
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trailedsimple
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had trailedperfect
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was trailingprogressive
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were trailingprogressive
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had been trailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trail
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English trailen “to draw or drag in the rear”; compare Old English træglian “to tear off”; cognate with Middle Dutch traghelen “to drag”; akin to Latvian dragât “to tear off, drag”
Explanation
A trail is an unpaved path, like the narrow trail you follow through the woods on your hike. A trail can also be a series of clues that are left behind, also forming a kind of path. You can walk along a trail, and you can also follow a trail: "My little brother left a trail of cracker crumbs behind him, so I found him right away." When you trail, you move slowly behind something or someone, or you drag something on the ground: "She sadly trails her deflated balloon behind her." You also might trail someone you're chasing: "My dog likes to trail squirrels around the yard."
Vocabulary lists containing trail
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her car was found in a car park at the bottom of a challenging trail in the Nattai National Park.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
"They're so funny looking. There's something about the very oversized bill, their behaviour on some of the trail camera footage, the nuzzling behaviour. And they're also so clumsy."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Known as “thru-hikers,” these backpackers walk the entire trail within a 12-month period.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The same goes for categories that don’t seem traditionally fermentation-forward: Pickle-flavored trail mix grew by 10%, as opposed to 4% for the general category.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The trail through the woods leads to the edge of the parking lot at Sandy June’s.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Contrails - also known as vapour trails - are made when the hot exhaust from aircraft engines meets the cold air at high altitude, creating ice crystals.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He mutters and trails off when he speaks publicly, making him hard to quote in full.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Walking on uneven terrain, such as on grass, gravel or bush trails, can help maintain proprioception.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Johnson-Thompson will seek to limit her losses in the shot put - typically one of her weakest events - as she trails leader Sulek-Schubert by 141 points, and the podium places by 80.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Mama’s voice trails off as she settles back into her cocoon.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
The industrial sector has performed better than the S&P 500 so far this year, although it has trailed the energy and technology sectors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
The billionaire investor’s portfolio has trailed the broader market since he took the fund, Pershing Square USA, and his firm public in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
But having trailed the League Two side 3-1 at half-time, Villa responded with seven goals in the second half to secure the win.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
His team trailed 2-1, their only run a solo homer from Tucker, who’d been booed throughout his first series back at Wrigley since departing the Cubs in free agency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Months. I was going to try it again at my graduation party, but…” I trailed off and shrugged.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
MS NOW is the second most-watched cable news channel, trailing Fox News, and has seen its audience grow in 2026.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
To repeat what I emphasized above, however, these below-average chances derive solely from the stock market’s trailing two-year returns.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
There are around a dozen candidates, with those trailing Lula and Bolsonaro polling in the single digits.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
On a trailing basis, the index trades for 24 times Street earnings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
With Matthias trailing behind her on his lead, Dunwing tapped on the slates which formed King Bull Sparra’s wall.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
