trailer

American  

[trey-ler] / ˈtreɪ lər /

noun

• trailers
  plural

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.

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trailer British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trailers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trailer

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

Explanation

A trailer is a wheeled vehicle that can't move on its own — it needs to be pulled by a car, truck, or other vehicle. Some bike-riding parents tow their small children behind them in bicycle trailers. The trailer you might put a boat on, hitching it to your truck, trails behind the vehicle that's pulling it. Another meaning of trailer is a film preview or advertisement that theaters show before a movie. It might seem strange to call it a trailer when it comes first, but the earliest trailers, at the start of the 20th century, came after the movie, trailing it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trailer trailers

In recent weeks, white trailer homes have appeared on the hilltop here again, in preparation for families to return.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The ride was constructed last year using repurposed farm materials, including strawberry polytunnel hoops and an old tipper lorry trailer.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

U.S. heavy-duty trailer orders in July, up 22% from June and well over double the year-earlier figure, according to FTR Transportation Intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The 24-foot trailer was packed and ready: sleeping bags, towels, backpacks and other items needed for a free four-day summer camping trip for children of incarcerated parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

City clutter had fallen behind and now there was country clutter, junkyards, a trailer park, billboards advertising dog food and faraway hotels.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Down the road from Oklo’s construction trailers at the Idaho National Lab, a campus of mostly Cold War-era buildings is abuzz with activity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

It doesn’t have river frontage, but it includes 25 Airstream trailers and 10 glamping tents in the shadow of a redwood grove.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Sure, it might be annoying that studios are trying to pass off overly enthusiastic five-star Letterboxd reviews as legitimate film criticism in marketing on posters and in trailers.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

Both trailers, which took a deeper look at the game's narrative and the lives of its protagonists, currently have a total of 446 million views combined.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

I watch him as he plods forward in his steel-toed boots, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the line of trees beyond the trailers.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Related Words

• mobile home