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:
Artificial intelligence has jumped out of the laptop and into the campaign trail.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 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
It blazed the trail for premium seating and luxury lounges that rivals now copy, for instance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
And the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Peninsula has “Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns,” a milelong walking trail with more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, s’mores-making stations and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
All day, Torak had followed its trail of bitten-off twigs and cloven prints: trying to feel what it was feeling; guessing where it would go next.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
In per capita GDP terms, China trails the U.S. and has yet to catch up with Japan or South Korea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
At the same time, he’s concerned that the animals’ trails around the mountains could be causing damaging levels of soil erosion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Nvidia stock is up 29% this year, but that trails the gains earned by Intel and others.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Most of the old trekking trails on the Annapurna Circuit have been unused in recent years after the introduction of roads, except for small pockets of Manang and Mustang districts.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Jimmy, are you all right? Jimmy…” The sound trails off, and soon Scoob is hearing her soft snores again.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
The Rams trailed, 20-10, at halftime, as the Eagles turned two interceptions into 10 points, and Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes to receiver Darius Cooper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 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
Vanderbilt trailed by 17 points midway through the third quarter when they started chipping away at a comeback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Celtic had 62.5% possession in the opening half but trailed 2-1.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Lumps of feces were strewn about, and little footprints trailed away from a dark hole in the floor.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
Yet Oura was asking for about 10 times trailing revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The trailing two-month divergence in March 2000, the month in which that bubble burst, was greater than 40 percentage points — more than four times the current divergence.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
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
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.
