train

[ treyn ]

/ treɪn /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: train / trained / training on Thesaurus.com

noun

Railroads. a self-propelled, connected group of rolling stock.

a line or procession of persons, vehicles, animals, etc., traveling together.

Military. an aggregation of vehicles, animals, and personnel accompanying an army to carry supplies, baggage, ammunition, etc.

a series or row of objects or parts.

Machinery. a connected set of three or more rotating elements, usually gears, through which force is transmitted, or motion or torque changed.

order, especially proper order: Matters were in good train.

something that is drawn along; a trailing part.

an elongated part of a skirt or robe trailing behind on the ground.

a trail or stream of something from a moving object.

a line or succession of persons or things following one after the other.

a body of followers or attendants; retinue.

a series of proceedings, events, ideas, etc.

the series of results or circumstances following or proceeding from an event, action, etc.; aftermath: Disease came in the train of war.

a succession of connected ideas; a course of reasoning: to lose one's train of thought.

Astronomy.

the trace of light created by a meteor falling through the earth's atmosphere.
the tail of a comet.

a line of combustible material, as gunpowder, for leading fire to an explosive charge.

Physics. a succession of wave fronts, oscillations, or the like.

verb (used with object)

to develop or form the habits, thoughts, or behavior of (a child or other person) by discipline and instruction: to train an unruly boy.

to make proficient by instruction and practice, as in some art, profession, or work: to train soldiers.

to make (a person) fit by proper exercise, diet, practice, etc., as for an athletic performance.

to discipline and instruct (an animal), as in the performance of tasks or tricks.

to treat or manipulate so as to bring into some desired form, position, direction, etc.: to train one's hair to stay down.

Horticulture. to bring (a plant, branch, etc.) into a particular shape or position, by bending, pruning, or the like.

to bring to bear on some object; point, aim, or direct, as a firearm, camera, telescope, or eye.

Archaic. to entice; allure.

verb (used without object)

to give the discipline and instruction, drill, practice, etc., designed to impart proficiency or efficiency.

to undergo discipline and instruction, drill, etc.

to get oneself into condition for an athletic performance through exercise, diet, practice, etc.

to travel or go by train: to train to New York.

OTHER WORDS FOR train

3 convoy.

6 array, arrangement.

10 file, column.

19 exercise, drill, practice, school.

See synonyms for train on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of train

First 1350–1400; (verb) late Middle English traynyn “to pull or drag in the rear,” from Middle French trainer, Old French tra(h)iner, from unattested Vulgar Latin tragīnāre, derivative of unrecorded tragīna “something dragged or drawn” (compare Medieval Latin tragīna “carriage”), derivative of unattested tragere “to pull,” for Latin trahere; (noun) Middle English train, traine, from Old French tra(h)in (masculine) “series of people, animals, or things,” tra(h)ine (feminine) “something dragged behind,” both derivative of tra(h)iner

synonym study for train

18, 19. See teach.

OTHER WORDS FROM train

train·less, adjectivehalf-trained, adjectivemin·i·train, nounmis·train, verb

non·trained, adjectiveo·ver·train, verbpre·train, verb (used with object)self-trained, adjectivesem·i·trained, adjectivesu·per·train, verbun·der·train, verb (used with object)un·der·trained, adjectiveun·trained, adjectivewell-trained, adjective

Words nearby train

trail mix, Trail of Tears, trail rope, trailside, trailsman, train, trainable, trainband, trainbearer, trained nurse, trainee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use train in a sentence

Like any kind of climate-related change, it’s too late to stop the train of warming that’s already moving forward.
Our Climate-Change Future Is Here|Heather Hansman|September 11, 2020|Outside Online
To break into Lorenz’s elusive inner circle, Mia cozies up to him, and Jasper’s flatmate Niklas, it turns out, is the guy from the train.
Stream or Skip? A Synthetic Biologist’s Review of ‘Biohackers’ on Netflix|Elsa Sotiriadis|September 2, 2020|Singularity Hub
Show the AI a few frames of a train pulling out of a station and then ask it to generate the next few frames in the sequence, for example.
How special relativity can help AI predict the future|Will Heaven|August 28, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The platform lets data scientists create and train models on vast quantities of unstructured text as well as other kinds of data.
Can an A.I. hedge fund beat the market?|Jeremy Kahn|August 25, 2020|Fortune

It gives you a red, yellow or green code based on your data and it has to be green for you to get on a train, say, or enter a store.
Podcast: Want consumer privacy? Try China|Michael Reilly|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
From there we took the train to Nice, France, but the French border control caught us and sent us back to Italy.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. military is finally starting to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS in restive Anbar province.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. only plans to train roughly 3,000 Iraqi troops in the first year.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“We met the smuggler in the train station; he came to speak with us about the services he provided,” Yazbek says.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was only the engine drawing the train of cars up to the station to take the passengers away.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
He went careering forward to his point, overturning and wounding; but as he speeded on, he left a train of enemies behind.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The fire along the three miles front is like the rumble of an express train running over fog signals.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
We were about nine hours of fair daylight traversing 160 miles of level or descending grade, with a light passenger train.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
There were only seventeen stations on the whole line, over which the first passenger train ran on Sept. 17.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

British Dictionary definitions for train

train

/ (treɪn) /

verb

(tr) to guide or teach (to do something), as by subjecting to various exercises or experiencesto train a man to fight

(tr) to control or guide towards a specific goalto train a plant up a wall

(intr) to do exercises and prepare for a specific purposethe athlete trained for the Olympics

(tr) to improve or curb by subjecting to disciplineto train the mind

(tr) to focus or bring to bear (on something)to train a telescope on the moon

noun

a line of coaches or wagons coupled together and drawn by a railway locomotive
(as modifier)a train ferry

a sequence or series, as of events, thoughts, etca train of disasters

a procession of people, vehicles, etc, travelling together, such as one carrying supplies of ammunition or equipment in support of a military operation

a series of interacting parts through which motion is transmitteda train of gears

a fuse or line of gunpowder to an explosive charge, etc

something drawn along, such as the long back section of a dress that trails along the floor behind the wearer

a retinue or suite

proper order or course

Derived forms of train

trainable, adjectivetrainless, adjective

Word Origin for train

C14: from Old French trahiner, from Vulgar Latin tragīnāre (unattested) to draw; related to Latin trahere to drag

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with train

train

In addition to the idiom beginning with train

train of thought

also see:

gravy train

train

OTHER WORDS FOR train

Origin of train

synonym study for train

OTHER WORDS FROM train

Words nearby train

Words related to train

How to use train in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for train

Derived forms of train

Word Origin for train

Other Idioms and Phrases with train