trail noun
1 line/smell that sb/sth leaves behind
ADJ. scent Ants follow a scent trail laid down previously. | blood, smoke, vapour | thin | muddy | false
VERB + TRAIL lay, leave, make The couple laid a false trail to escape the paparazzi. The tourists left a trail of litter behind them. | pick up The dog had picked up the trail of a rabbit. | follow | lose The fox had crossed a stream, and the hounds lost the trail.
TRAIL + VERB go cold They had to find the kidnappers before the trail went cold.
PREP. on sb's ~ 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 smoke
2 path/route
ADJ. forest, nature, woodland | 10-kilometre, 5-mile, etc. | cycle, mountain bike, tourist, walking | hippy, tourist This restaurant is off the tourist trail. | campaign, comeback, winning (all figurative) After a disastrous few seasons, the team are on the comeback trail.
VERB + TRAIL follow, hit In 1967 she hit the hippy trail to India. | be on (often figurative)
TRAIL + VERB go, lead, wend its way The trail wends its way through leafy woodland and sunny meadows.
PREP. along a/the ~
trail verb
1 move/walk slowly
ADV. slowly | wearily
PREP. after I trailed wearily after the others. | around/round They spent their lives trailing around the country. | (along) behind
2 have a lower score than the other player/team
ADV. badly Liverpool are now trailing badly in the league.
PREP. by They were trailing by 12 points until the last few minutes of the game.
You can also check other dicts: trail (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition