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Webster 1913 Edition

Trail

Trail

(trāl)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Trailed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Trailing
.]
[OE.
trailen
, OF.
trailler
to trail a deer, or hunt him upon a cold scent, also, to hunt or pursue him with a limehound, F.
trailler
to trail a fishing line; probably from a derivative of L.
trahere
to draw; cf. L.
traha
a drag, sledge,
tragula
a kind of drag net, a small sledge, Sp.
trailla
a leash, an instrument for leveling the ground, D.
treilen
to draw with a rope, to tow,
treil
a rope for drawing a boat. See
Trace
,
Verb.
T.
]
2.
To draw or drag, as along the ground.
And hung his head, and
trailed
his legs along.
Dryden.
They shall not
trail
me through their streets
Like a wild beast.
Milton.
Long behind he
trails
his pompous robe.
Pope.
3.
(Mil.)
To carry, as a firearm, with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
4.
To tread down, as grass, by walking through it; to lay flat.
Longfellow.
5.
To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.
[Prov. Eng.]
I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly termed)
trailing
Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her ignorance.
C. Bronte.

Trail

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be drawn out in length; to follow after.
When his brother saw the red blood
trail
.
Spenser.
2.
To grow to great length, especially when slender and creeping upon the ground, as a plant; to run or climb.

Trail

,
Noun.
1.
A track left by man or beast; a track followed by the hunter; a scent on the ground by the animal pursued;
as, a deer
trail
.
They traveled in the bed of the brook, leaving no dangerous
trail
.
Cooper.
How cheerfully on the false
trail
they cry!
Shakespeare
2.
A footpath or road track through a wilderness or wild region;
as, an Indian
trail
over the plains
.
3.
Anything drawn out to a length;
as, the
trail
of a meteor; a
trail
of smoke.
When lightning shoots in glittering
trails
along.
Rowe.
4.
Anything drawn behind in long undulations; a train.
“A radiant trail of hair.”
Pope.
5.
Anything drawn along, as a vehicle.
[Obs.]
6.
A frame for trailing plants; a trellis.
[Obs.]
7.
The entrails of a fowl, especially of game, as the woodcock, and the like; – applied also, sometimes, to the entrails of sheep.
The woodcock is a favorite with epicures, and served with its
trail
in, is a delicious dish.
Baird.
8.
(Mil.)
That part of the stock of a gun carriage which rests on the ground when the piece is unlimbered. See Illust. of
Gun carriage
, under
Gun
.
9.
The act of taking advantage of the ignorance of a person; an imposition.
[Prov. Eng.]
Trail boards
(Shipbuilding)
,
the carved boards on both sides of the cutwater near the figurehead.
–
Trail net
,
a net that is trailed or drawn behind a boat.
Wright.

Webster 1828 Edition

Trail

TRAIL

,
Verb.
T.
[L. traho.]
1.
To hunt by the track. [See the Norman, supra.]
2.
To draw along the ground. Trail your pikes.
And hung his head, and trail'd his legs along.
They shall not trail me through the streets
Like a wild beast.
That long behind he trails his pompous robe.
3.
To lower; as, to trail arms.
4.
In America, to tread down gras by walking through; to lay flat; as, to trail grass.

TRAIL

,
Verb.
I.
To be drawn out in length.
When his brother saw the red blood trail.

TRAIL

,
Noun.
Track followed by the hunter; scent left on the ground by the animal pursued.
How cheerfully on the false trail they cry.
1.
Any thing drawn to length; as the trail of a meteor; a trail of smoke.
When lightning shoots in glitt'ring trails along.
2.
Any thing drawn behind in long undulations; a train.
And drew behind a radiant trail of hair.
3.
The entrails of a fowl; applied sometimes to those of sheep.
boards, in ship-building, a term for the craved work between the cheeks of the head, at the heel of the figure.

Definition 2024

Trail

Trail

See also: trail

English

Proper noun

Trail

  1. A city in British Columbia
  2. A city in Minnesota

trail

trail

See also: Trail

English

Verb

trail ‎(third-person singular simple present trails, present participle trailing, simple past and past participle trailed)

  1. (transitive) To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).
    The hunters trailed their prey deep into the woods.‎
  2. (transitive) To drag (something) behind on the ground.
    You'll get your coat all muddy if you trail it around like that.‎
    • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1
      "I saw your brother—I saw your brother," he said, nodding his head, as Archer lagged past him, trailing his spade, and scowling at the old gentleman in spectacles.
  3. (transitive) To leave (a trail of).
    He walked into the house, soaking wet, and trailed water all over the place.‎
  4. (transitive) To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.
    His new film was trailed on TV last night.‎
    There were no surprises in this morning's much-trailed budget statement.‎
  5. To be losing, to be behind in a competition.
    • 2011 December 29, Keith Jackson, “SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0”, in Daily Record:
      Neil Lennon and his players have, in almost no time at all, roared back from trailing Rangers by 15 points in November to ending the year two points clear.
  6. (military) To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
  7. To flatten (grass, etc.) by walking through it; to tread down.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Longfellow to this entry?)
  8. (dated) To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.
    • Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)
      I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly termed) trailing Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her ignorance.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

trail ‎(plural trails)

  1. The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.
  2. A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.
  3. A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.
  4. (graph theory) A walk in which all the edges are distinct.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

French

Noun

trail f ‎(plural trails)

  1. Dual-sport motorcycle
  2. Trail running

Etymology

From Old French trailler ‎(“to tow; pick up the scent of a quarry”), from Vulgar Latin *tragulare ‎(“to drag”), from Latin tragula ‎(“dragnet, javelin thrown by a strap”), probably related to trahere ‎(“to pull, drag along”)

Pronunciation

  • enPR: trāl, IPA(key): /tɹeɪl/
  • Rhymes: -eɪl

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