What does trail mean?

trail means "to lag or linger behind". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in trail?

trail has 1 syllable: trail. In IPA it is /ˈtɹeɪl/.

What is another word for trail?

Close synonyms include drag, get behind, hang back, drop behind, drop back. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is trail a common word?

trail is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

trail — meaning, pronunciation and 8 definitions

verb

5 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
to lag or linger behind
“But in so many other areas we still are dragging”
Synonymsdrag get behind hang back drop behind drop back
Broaderlag
2.
go after with the intent to catch
“The policeman chased the mugger down the alley”
“the dog chased the rabbit”
Synonymschase chase after tail tag give chase dog go after track
Broaderpursue
Narrowertree quest hound run down
3.
move, proceed, or walk draggingly or slowly
“John trailed behind his class mates”
“The Mercedes trailed behind the horse cart”
Synonymsshack
Broadertravel
4.
hang down so as to drag along the ground
“The bride's veiled trailed along the ground”
5.
drag loosely along a surface; allow to sweep the ground
“The toddler was trailing his pants”
“She trained her long scarf behind her”
Synonymstrain
Broaderdrag

noun

3 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
“there as a trail of blood”
“a tear left its trail on her cheek”
Broaderpath
Narrowerslot spoor
2.
a path or track roughly blazed through wild or hilly country
Broadertrack
Narrowercattle trail deer trail horse-trail Iditarod Trail Indian trail mountain trail Santa Fe Trail ski run
3.
evidence pointing to a possible solution
“the police are following a promising lead”
“the trail led straight to the perpetrator”
Synonymslead track
Broaderevidence

Other forms of trail

plural: trails·
past tense: trailed·
present participle: trailing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about trail

What does trail mean?: trail means "to lag or linger behind". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in trail?: trail has 1 syllable: trail. In IPA it is /ˈtɹeɪl/.
What is another word for trail?: Close synonyms include drag, get behind, hang back, drop behind, drop back. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is trail a common word?: trail is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for trail come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

verb

5 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
to lag or linger behind
“But in so many other areas we still are dragging”
Synonymsdrag get behind hang back drop behind drop back
Broaderlag
2.
go after with the intent to catch
“The policeman chased the mugger down the alley”
“the dog chased the rabbit”
Synonymschase chase after tail tag give chase dog go after track
Broaderpursue
Narrowertree quest hound run down
3.
move, proceed, or walk draggingly or slowly
“John trailed behind his class mates”
“The Mercedes trailed behind the horse cart”
Synonymsshack
Broadertravel
4.
hang down so as to drag along the ground
“The bride's veiled trailed along the ground”
5.
drag loosely along a surface; allow to sweep the ground
“The toddler was trailing his pants”
“She trained her long scarf behind her”
Synonymstrain
Broaderdrag

noun

3 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
“there as a trail of blood”
“a tear left its trail on her cheek”
Broaderpath
Narrowerslot spoor
2.
a path or track roughly blazed through wild or hilly country
Broadertrack
Narrowercattle trail deer trail horse-trail Iditarod Trail Indian trail mountain trail Santa Fe Trail ski run
3.
evidence pointing to a possible solution
“the police are following a promising lead”
“the trail led straight to the perpetrator”
Synonymslead track
Broaderevidence

Other forms of trail

plural: trails·
past tense: trailed·
present participle: trailing·

Questions about trail

What does trail mean?: trail means "to lag or linger behind". That is the primary sense; the word has 8 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in trail?: trail has 1 syllable: trail. In IPA it is /ˈtɹeɪl/.
What is another word for trail?: Close synonyms include drag, get behind, hang back, drop behind, drop back. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is trail a common word?: trail is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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verb

noun

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Questions about trail

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trail

verb

noun

Other forms of trail

Questions about trail