trainer
Americannoun
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trainers
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Madison Hildreth, 28, a fitness trainer in Austin, Texas, keeps 8-pound dumbbells in her room for this express purpose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Katie Suiters, a 38-year-old media trainer in McLean, Va., decided to upgrade to the Venture X card after she noticed more Capital One lounges at airports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
He covered his face with his left hand and was able to jog toward the Cubs dugout, where a trainer helped him down the steps and into the clubhouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
He said he hopes to be a dog trainer and groomer if he is released from prison—he’ll be 98 when his sentence ends—and he asked me to apologize to the Roebucks.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
War Admiral’s trainer, George Conway, lingered by his horse’s stall.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Groppo highlighted the enthusiasm among a new male audience for Chanel ready-to-wear, including "loafers, trainers, blazers and bags".
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Asia military specialist Carl Thayer warned against alarmism, noting that the Ban Keun site could only support light aircraft and military trainers for now.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
But his team of trainers had a hunch that he might have another year in him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
On the TV broadcast, USC trainers were seen looking closely at his knee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Rival trainers who claimed horses from Irwin sometimes found them so exhausted that they had to give them long layoffs before they were capable of running again.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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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.