trail

trail¹ [treıl] v

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1¦(pull)¦

2¦(walk slowly)¦

3¦(lose a competition)¦

4¦(follow somebody)¦

Phrasal verbs

　trail away/off

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[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 bored

trail 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 v

if 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 ²

trail² n

1.) a rough path across countryside or through a forest

▪ The trail led over Boulder Pass before descending to a lake.

→↑nature trail

2.) a long line or a series of marks that have been left by someone or something

trail 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 something

trail 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/sth

to 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 trail

campaign/election trail

▪ politicians on the campaign trail

7.) the set of things that someone does to achieve something

▪ New players should put the team back on the winning trail.

→blaze a trail at ↑blaze² (5), hit the trail/road at ↑hit¹ (17)