trail
verb (used with object)
to drag or let drag along the ground or other surface; draw or drag along behind.
was trailing
-
past progressiveof trail.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Harvie won handily in his primary, but Baines, in the California primary on Tuesday, was trailing her progressive opponent, Randy Villegas, at the time of writing, though the race was too close to call.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
And in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, veteran politician MK Stalin was trailing, challenged by a political debutante -- film star C. Joseph Vijay.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Ballesteros was trailing Tom Watson in the final round but came back to win by two shots and claim the Claret Jug, denying the American a third successive Open.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
At the time, Blue Origin was trailing SpaceX, which by then had demonstrated an ability to land its rocket boosters—a key step toward making space travel more economically viable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
“Oh yeah, you’re right,” said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
