trainer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that trains.
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a staff member on an athletic team who gives first aid and therapy to injured players.
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a person who trains athletes; coach.
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a person who trains racehorses or other animals for contests, shows, or performances.
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an airplane or a simulated aircraft used in training aircrew members, especially pilots.
noun
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a person who trains athletes in a sport
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a piece of equipment employed in training, such as a simulated aircraft cockpit
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horse racing a person who schools racehorses and prepares them for racing
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(plural) an informal name for training shoes
Etymology
Origin of trainer
Explanation
A trainer is someone who teaches or coaches someone, like the trainer at the gym who promises that she'll have you ready to run a marathon in four months. Some trainers can teach you how to do sit ups, while others can instruct you to program a computer or be an effective leader. Dog trainers teach dogs to follow commands — and they teach dog owners to give commands effectively. The noun trainer comes from the verb train, "to discipline or teach," from an earlier sense, "to manipulate to bring a desired form," the way a gardener trains a rose to grow up a trellis.
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.
Rob Thompson, an L.A. trainer who works with celebrities and CEOs, says his clients regularly do body scans and visit longevity clinics.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
Daniel Rice is a personal trainer in Los Angeles, a job that gives him a front-row seat to the physique coveted by today’s American man.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
Last year, the UK government's Strategic Defence Review recommended the Hawks should be replaced by a "cost-effective, advanced trainer jet".
From BBC • May 15, 2026
Exercising some muscles while ignoring others is a common cause of injury, and any trainer worth their salt will advise fitness enthusiasts to balance their routine.
From Salon • May 8, 2026
Up in the grandstand, Stagehand’s trainer, Earl Sande, realized what was happening.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
