trail
/tɹeɪl/verb, noun
trail is spelled T-R-A-I-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, trail means “To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in trail?
| Letters | 5: T-R-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 28 times per million words; the 3,288th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is trail?
Trail appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce trail?
- /tɹeɪl/
Trail has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-trail.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-trail.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with trail?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as trail.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: trial.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of trail
- trails present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- trailing participle, present
- trailed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).
The hunters trailed their prey deep into the woods.
- 2
To drag (something) behind on the ground.
You'll get your coat all muddy if you trail it around like that.
- 3
To leave (a trail of).
He walked into the house, soaking wet, and trailed water all over the place.
- 4
To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.
His new film was trailed on TV last night.
- 5
To hang or drag loosely behind; to move with a slow sweeping motion.
The bride's long dress trailed behind her as she walked down the aisle.
- 6
To run or climb like certain plants.
- 7
To drag oneself lazily or reluctantly along.
Our parents marched to church and we trailed behind.
- 8
To be losing, to be behind in a competition.
noun
- 1
The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.
The trail has gone cold.
- 2
A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.
- 3
A route or circuit generally.
Politicians are on the campaign trail in preparation for this year's election.
- 4
A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.
- 5
A walk in which all the edges are distinct.
- 6
The horizontal distance from where the wheel touches the ground to where the steering axis intersects the ground.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate trail?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of trail: tr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trail in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pister, suivre , traîner , piste, traces , sentier |
| German | folgen, verfolgen, nachstellen, nacheilen, nachsetzen , schleppen |
| Portuguese | seguir , arrastar , rasto, rastro , trilha |
| Spanish | seguir , arrastrar , rastro, pista , sendero, senda |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.