- trail
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 line/smell that sb/sth leaves behindADJECTIVE▪ scent▪
Ants follow a scent trail laid down previously.
▪ blood, smoke, vapour/vapor▪ faint, thin▪ long▪ muddy▪ wet▪ falseVERB + TRAIL▪ lay, leave, make, produce▪The couple laid a false trail to escape the press photographers.
▪The tourists left a trail of empty cans behind them.
▪ find, pick up▪The dog had picked up the trail of a rabbit.
▪ notice, see▪ follow▪ lose▪The fox had crossed a stream, and the hounds lost the trail.
▪ coverTRAIL + VERB▪ go cold▪They had to find the kidnappers before the trail went cold.
PREPOSITION▪ on sb's trail▪Detectives had found several new clues and were back on the murderer's trail.
PHRASES▪ a trail of blood, a trail of devastation▪The hurricane passed, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.
▪ a trail of smoke2 path/routeADJECTIVE▪ forest, mountain, nature, wooded, woodland▪ cross-country▪ 10-km, 5-mile, etc.▪ bike, biking, cycle (BrE), hiking, jogging, mountain-bike, ski, snowmobile, walking▪ cross-country▪ tourist▪This restaurant is off the tourist trail.
▪ narrow, rough, steep, winding▪ dusty, rocky▪ dirt▪ lighted, marked, paved▪ groomed (AmE)▪ scenic▪ main▪ campaign, comeback, presidential, winning (BrE) (all figurative)▪After a disastrous few seasons, the team are on the comeback trail.
VERB + TRAIL▪ follow, hit, take▪I like to hit the trail early and be finished by eight.
▪ hike, ride, walk (all AmE)▪ do (informal)▪We did the Inca trail.
TRAIL + VERB▪ go, lead, run, wend its way, wind▪The trail wends its way through dark forests.
▪ begin, start▪ cross sth, follow sth, pass sthPREPOSITION▪ along a/the trail{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verb1 move/walk slowlyADVERB▪ slowly▪ wearily▪ closely (behind)PREPOSITION▪ after▪I trailed wearily after the others.
▪ around, round (esp. BrE)▪They spent their lives trailing around the country.
▪ (along) behind2 have a lower score than the other player/teamADVERB▪ badly▪The team is now trailing badly in the league.
▪Tyler is trailing badly in the polls.
▪ slightlyPREPOSITION▪ by▪They were trailing by 12 points until the last few minutes of the game.
Trail is used with these nouns as the object: ↑finger
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
