- trail
- trail1 [treıl] v▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1¦(pull)¦2¦(walk slowly)¦3¦(lose a competition)¦4¦(follow somebody)¦Phrasal verbstrail away/off▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: trailler 'to pull after you, tow', from Vulgar Latin tragulare, from Latin tragula 'sledge, net for pulling']1.) ¦(PULL)¦ [I and T]to pull something behind you, especially along the ground, or to be pulled in this way▪ A plane trailing a banner was circling overhead.trail in/on/over etc▪ She walked slowly along the path, her skirt trailing in the mud.trail sth in/across/through etc sth▪ Rees was leaning out of the boat trailing his hand through the water.2.) ¦(WALK SLOWLY)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]to walk slowly, especially behind other people because you are tired or boredtrail behind/around▪ Susie trailed along behind her parents.▪ We spent the afternoon trailing around the shops.3.) ¦(LOSE A COMPETITION)¦ [I,T usually in progressive]to be losing in a game, competition, or election▪ The Democratic candidate is still trailing in the opinion polls.trail (sb) by sth▪ Manchester United were trailing by two goals to one.trail in/home(=finish in a bad position)▪ He trailed in last after a disastrous race.4.) ¦(FOLLOW SOMEBODY)¦ [T]to follow someone by looking for signs that they have gone in a particular direction▪ Police trailed the gang for several days.trail away/off phr vif someone's voice trails away or trails off, it becomes gradually quieter and then stops▪ She trailed off, silenced by the look Kris gave her.trail 2trail2 n1.) a rough path across countryside or through a forest▪ The trail led over Boulder Pass before descending to a lake.2.) a long line or a series of marks that have been left by someone or somethingtrail of▪ a trail of wet footprints▪ The bus left a trail of black smoke behind it.▪ The typhoon left a trail of devastation.3.) a series of unpleasant situations or feelings that have been left by someone or somethingtrail of▪ He left a trail of broken hearts and broken promises.4.) a sign that a person or animal has been in a place, used for finding or catching them▪ The hunters lost the tiger's trail in the middle of the jungle.▪ Police tracked him to Valencia and there the trail went cold (=they could not find any signs of him) .5.) be on the trail of sb/sthto be trying to find someone or something by getting information about them▪ industrial spies on the trail of technological secrets▪ Police believe they are hot on the trail of a drug-smuggling gang (=they are close to finding them) .6.) all the places that a particular group of people visit for a particular purpose▪ a town on the tourist trailcampaign/election trail▪ politicians on the campaign trail7.) the set of things that someone does to achieve something▪ New players should put the team back on the winning trail.
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.