train

American  

[trayn] / treɪn /

noun

• trains
  plural

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

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

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

   Synonyms:

   convoy

4. a series or row of objects or parts.

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

6. order, especially proper order.

   Matters were in good train.

   Synonyms:

   arrangement, array

7. something that is drawn along; a trailing part.

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

9. a trail or stream of something from a moving object.

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

    Synonyms:

    column, file

11. a body of followers or attendants; retinue.

12. a series of proceedings, events, ideas, etc.

13. the series of results or circumstances following or proceeding from an event, action, etc.; aftermath.

    Disease came in the train of war.

14. a succession of connected ideas; a course of reasoning.

    to lose one's train of thought.

15. Astronomy.

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

    2. the tail of a comet.

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

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

---

verb (used with object)

• trains,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trained,
  past participle,  past
• training
  present participle

1. to develop or form the habits, thoughts, or behavior of (a child or other person) by discipline and instruction.

   to train an unruly boy.

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

   to train soldiers.

   Synonyms:

   school, practice, drill, exercise

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

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

5. to treat or manipulate so as to bring into some desired form, position, direction, etc..

   to train one's hair to stay down.

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

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

8. Archaic. to entice; allure.

verb (used without object)

• trains,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trained,
  past participle,  past
• training
  present participle

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

2. to undergo discipline and instruction, drill, etc.

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

4. to travel or go by train.

   to train to New York.

train British  

/ treɪn /

verb

1. (tr) to guide or teach (to do something), as by subjecting to various exercises or experiences

   to train a man to fight

2. (tr) to control or guide towards a specific goal

   to train a plant up a wall

3. (intr) to do exercises and prepare for a specific purpose

   the athlete trained for the Olympics

4. (tr) to improve or curb by subjecting to discipline

   to train the mind

5. (tr) to focus or bring to bear (on something)

   to train a telescope on the moon

---

noun

1. 1. a line of coaches or wagons coupled together and drawn by a railway locomotive

   2. ( as modifier )

      a train ferry

2. a sequence or series, as of events, thoughts, etc

   a train of disasters

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

4. a series of interacting parts through which motion is transmitted

   a train of gears

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

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

7. a retinue or suite

8. proper order or course

train Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing train

• gravy train

---

Synonym Usage

See teach.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minitrain
  noun
• mistrain
  verb
• overtrain
  verb
• supertrain
  verb
• pretrain
  verb (used with object)
• undertrain
  verb (used with object)
• half-trained
  adjective
• nontrained
  adjective
• self-trained
  adjective
• semitrained
  adjective
• trainable
  adjective
• trainless
  adjective
• undertrained
  adjective
• untrained
  adjective
• well-trained
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trains
  plural

Participles

• training
  present
• trained
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• train
  simple
• trains
  simple
• have trained
  perfect
• has trained
  perfect
• am training
  progressive
• are training
  progressive
• is training
  progressive
• have been training
  perfect progressive
• has been training
  perfect progressive

Past

• trained
  simple
• had trained
  perfect
• was training
  progressive
• were training
  progressive
• had been training
  perfect progressive

Future

• will train
  simple
• will have trained
  perfect
• will be training
  progressive
• will have been training
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

To train means to teach a skill. If you train your cat to use the toilet, your family will be amazed. You can train animals to perform in a circus or roll over, and you can train people to do things like program computers or use an espresso machine. When you instruct someone how to do a task, you train him or her. Other meanings of the word train? A locomotive, like the train that takes people from New York City to Boston or a long piece of material attached to the back of a dress, like the train on a wedding dress.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

train trains trained training

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy compared it with the state’s long-delayed, budget-busting high-speed train.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The island is a powerhouse in the semiconductor sector, producing more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips used to train and power AI systems.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Just before the academy players go on the pitch, there is a sign that says: "Don't look sideways" - referring to where the first team train.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

In San Francisco, the drop-off and pickup spots are at the rental-car center or Grand Hyatt airport hotel and you have to take the airport train.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The faint sputter of a motorcar came from down the street, and a few minutes later a train on Alameda rattled on the rails as it headed to the railyard just beyond Chinatown.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

“In the meantime, protecting the existing line is essential to keeping trains running safely for the communities that rely on them.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

In early 2025, Run For Something, an organization that recruits and trains progressive millennial and Gen Z candidates for state and local office, launched an initiative that aims to get more renters elected.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

There was a more than 60-percent decrease in the category that includes military vehicles, aircraft, ships and trains.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

The downturn was driven largely by a 61.5% monthly drop in demand for transport equipment such as aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The one time I did see him— when we all went to see the trains at the arboretum right before Christmas—I was so nervous I barely said a word.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Another group of rescue volunteers was inserted west of the summit at 11,200 feet of elevation, and a third team was sent to Seibert’s car with a trained search dog to establish a scent trail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Scientists in Australia trained sea lions and seals to respond to a hearing test for research into how the marine mammals are affected by human-made noise.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Managing director Bill Heckle trained to be a Beatles guide in 1982 before forming the Cavern City Tours in 1983.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

It plans to release the weights, or the trained parameters of the model, on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Boaz kept his eyes trained away from the mirror, despite every temptation to do otherwise.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Last year, one of Y Combinator’s startups needed 120 graphics processing units, or GPUs, for a two-month training run but couldn’t find a suitable contract, according to a person familiar with the accelerator.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

The plan includes working with Mexico to expand food safety education and training in that country’s produce industry and expanding lab capacity in Mexico to collect, analyze, and process cyclospora samples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Saints were expelled from the Championship play-offs in May after admitting spying on training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The animals completed seven training sessions in total.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

In the air force he had done some training in living off the land—it was something they all had to do, in case they got shot down.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• care for
• develop
• discipline
• educate
• equip
• improve
• instruct
• qualify
• study
• teach
• tutor
• work out