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Trail   /treɪl/   Listen
noun
Trail  n.  
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." "How cheerfully on the false trail they cry!"
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."
4.
Anything drawn behind in long undulations; a train. "A radiant trail of hair."
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."
8.
(Mil.) That part of the stock of a gun carriage which rests on the ground when the piece is unlimbered.
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.


verb
Trail  v. t.  (past & past part. trailed; pres. part. trailing)  
1.
(a)
To hunt by the track; to track.
(b)
To follow behind.
(c)
To pursue.
2.
To draw or drag, as along the ground. "And hung his head, and trailed his legs along." "They shall not trail me through their streets Like a wild beast." "Long behind he trails his pompous robe."
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.
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."


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





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Trail" Quotes from Famous Books



... galloping over an open trail on a nervous little cow-pony. But it was both a bodily and mental relief for the outdoor girl who had been, for these past weeks, shut into a groove for which ...
— The Girl from Sunset Ranch - Alone in a Great City • Amy Bell Marlowe
... by Mr. Jackal came lilting along with his tail up. "Ho! ho! That is your game, is it?" said he to himself, when he saw the trail of the Crocodile in the sandy soil. So he stood outside, and said aloud, "Bless my stars! What has happened? I don't half like to go in, for whenever I come home my wife ...
— The Junior Classics, Volume 1 • Willam Patten
... trail to guide him now, but he did not immediately mind that. He trekked the South Mars Desert and he had weathered the jungles of Io. Tsith hound or no, he had an unerring instinct for direction. He was sure the foothills couldn't be far ...
— One Purple Hope! • Henry Hasse
... these ideas were constantly forcing themselves, as it were, into my mind as I wandered over the changeful face of this singular land, where the fresh print of the moccasin is followed by the tread of the engineer and his attendants, and the light trail of the red man is effaced by the road of iron: hardly have the echoes ceased to repeat through the woods the Indian's hunter-cry before this is followed by the angry rush of the ponderous steam-engine, urged forward! ...
— Impressions of America - During the years 1833, 1834 and 1835. In Two Volumes, Volume I. • Tyrone Power
... had missed the drift of the girls' discussion. He was considering, privately, whether he had not better send a special messenger on the young men's trail. His assurances to the women left a wide margin for personal doubt as to the prudence of the trip. Aside from the lateness of the start, it was, undoubtedly, an ill-assorted company for the woods. There was a wide margin also for ...
— The Desert and The Sown • Mary Hallock Foote


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