trail
(trāl)v. trailed, trail·ing, trails
v.tr.
1. To allow to drag or stream behind, as along the ground: The dog ran off, trailing its leash.
2. To drag (the body, for example) wearily or heavily.
3.
a. To follow the traces or scent of, as in hunting; track.
b. To follow the course taken by; pursue: trail a fugitive.
4. To follow behind: several cruisers trailed by an escorting destroyer.
5. To lag behind (an opponent): trailed the league leader by four games.
v.intr.
1. To drag or be dragged along, brushing the ground: The queen's long robe trailed behind.
2. To extend, grow, or droop loosely over a surface: vines trailing through the garden.
3. To drift in a thin stream: smoke trailing from a dying fire.
4. To become gradually fainter; dwindle: His voice trailed off in confusion.
5. To walk or proceed with dragging steps; trudge: trailed along in glum silence.
6. To be behind in competition; lag: trailing by two goals in the second period.
n.
1.
a. A marked or beaten path, as through woods or wilderness.
b. An overland route: the pioneers' trail across the prairies.
c. A marked course through one or more bodies of water, as for recreational boaters or divers.
2.
a. A mark, trace, course, or path left by a moving body.
b. The scent of a person or animal: The dogs lost the trail of the fox.
3. Something that is drawn along or follows behind; a train: The mayor was followed by a trail of reporters.
4. A succession of things that come afterward or are left behind: left a trail of broken promises.
5. Something that hangs loose and long: Trails of ticker tape floated down from office windows.
6. The part of a gun carriage that rests or slides on the ground.
7. The act of trailing.
[Middle English trailen, probably from Old French trailler, to hunt without a foreknown course, from Vulgar Latin *trāgulāre, to make a deer double back and forth, perhaps alteration (influenced by Latin trāgula, dragnet) of Latin trahere, to pull, draw.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
trailing
(ˈtreɪlɪŋ)adj
(Botany) (of a plant) having a long stem which spreads over the ground or hangs loosely: trailing ivy.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  trailing - the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
trailing
[ˈtreɪlɪŋ] ADJ [plant] → trepador; [branches] → colganteshe wore a long trailing scarf → llevaba un pañuelo largo que le colgaba
trailing edge (Aer) → borde m de salida, borde m posterior
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
trailing
adj
(Aviat) trailing edge → Hinterkante f, → Achterkante f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007