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:
One showed a trail of lights linking the holy Muslim sites of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem accompanied by a nationalist, 19th-century Arabic poem by Egyptian poet Mahmoud Sami al-Baroudi:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The surge in bond yields to generational highs has investors around the world watching and worrying about what could crack, spiral or leave a trail of carnage in its path.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
Flavio issued fierce denials as Lula took to the campaign trail clutching a statue of the saint, declaring that "messing" with her was "unacceptable."
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
She said her time on the campaign trail “has reminded me that the most important part of public service is listening.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
To their dismay, Wolf took the right-hand trail.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“I just want to see what kind of car he’s getting into,” Ms. Townsend whispers into the microphone as she trails the same support aide in another video from last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Events cannot alter the movement of visitors, wildlife or traffic, close roads or trails, or take place in designated wilderness areas.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Across the surrounding countryside, seepages resemble miniature volcanoes overflowing with crude and leaving hardened black trails.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Russell, who trails Antonelli by 81 points, was 0.4 seconds quicker than Verstappen.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
And then another horse to pack gear on those same possibly dangerous mountain trails.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Leaving his native Knoxville, Tenn., in the mid-1970s to head west, McCarthy trailed behind him “two failed marriages and three novels largely ignored by the public.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Three singles, a hit batter and a grand slam later, the Tigers trailed for good.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Another 15.9% was held in mutual funds and ETFs, and 8% in individual stocks, both of which also trailed other cohorts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Celtic had 62.5% possession in the opening half but trailed 2-1.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He trailed off as Aunt Hila disappeared around the corner into the kitchen.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Sale, a 10-time All-Star, posted a 2.16 earned-run average this season, trailing only projected Cy Young winners Jacob Misiorowski and Cam Schlittler.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Chinese open weight models are being released at a rapid pace, with benchmarks showing the country's top models trailing US rivals by only a few months.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
O’Reilly and AutoZone’s recent slumps leave them at modest premiums to their respective trailing 10-year averages of price to forward sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
China, long seen as trailing the United States on frontier AI, has been closing that gap fast.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
They curled up on either side of the boat, looking up at the stars through the trailing canopy of coconut branches.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
