trailing

trail

T0308200 (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.

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[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.]

trailing

(ˈtreɪlɪŋ) adj (Botany) (of a plant) having a long stem which spreads over the ground or hangs loosely: trailing ivy.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

trailing - the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behindtrackinganimal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movementchase, pursual, pursuit, following - the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture; "the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit"

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