trailing
/ˈtɹeɪ.lɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
trailing is spelled T-R-A-I-L-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, trailing means “That converge in the direction of travel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in trailing?
| Letters | 8: T-R-A-I-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th 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 trailing?
Trailing appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th 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 trailing?
- /ˈtɹeɪ.lɪŋ/
Trailing has 2 syllables (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-trailing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with trailing?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as trailing.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ringtail.
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 trailing
- trailings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trailing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
That converge in the direction of travel.
- 2
That follows behind; especially, that is attached and pulled behind.
the trailing railcars
noun
- 1
Fabric or other material that trails.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of trail
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trailing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rail transport: converging in the direction of travel:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | anhängend, nachziehend, nachschleppend |
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.