trailer
Americannoun
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a large van or wagon drawn by an automobile, truck, or tractor, used especially in hauling freight by road.
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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.
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a person or thing that trails.
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a trailing plant.
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a short promotional film composed of clips showing highlights of a movie due for release in the near future.
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blank film at the end of a reel or strip of film, for winding off the film in a motion-picture camera or projector.
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Ceramics. a can with a spout, used in slip trailing.
noun
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a road vehicle, usually two-wheeled, towed by a motor vehicle: used for transporting boats, etc
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the part of an articulated lorry that is drawn by the cab
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a series of short extracts from a film, used to advertise it in a cinema or on television
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a person or thing that trails
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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
Etymology
Origin of trailer
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.
Vocabulary lists containing trailer
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Film and Literature
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American Street
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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.
In March, the series’ first official trailer became the most-watched in HBO and HBO Max history, garnering more than 277 million views across platforms within 48 hours.
From Salon • May 14, 2026
A trailer shows Duffy, his wife and their nine children skiing, snowmobiling and riding waterslides, alongside shots of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, Boston’s Fenway Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Phillip Morgan tried to warn the family before attempting to stop his son by blocking his way with a truck and trailer.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
I get something to take my mind off the fire,’” one young player said in the film’s trailer.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The Tillermans slept in Claire’s trailer, James and Maybeth on the second bunk, Sammy among the nestled pile of terriers, Dicey on the floor.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
