train
/ˈtɹeɪn/noun, verb
train is spelled T-R-A-I-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, train means “The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of train is trains.
How many letters and syllables are in train?
| Letters | 5: T-R-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 91 times per million words; the 1,167th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 train?
Train appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th 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 train?
- US /ˈtɹeɪn/
- US [ˈtɹ̝̊ʷeɪ̯n]
- US [ˈt̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷeɪ̯n]
Train has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-a_train.ogg, En-us-train.ogg, Train.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with train?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as train from its last stressed vowel (/eɪn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tarin, trian, riant.
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 train
- trains plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- training participle, present
- trained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does train mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground.
Unfortunately, the leading bridesmaid stepped on the bride's train as they were walking down the aisle.
- 2
A trail or line of something, especially gunpowder.
- 3
The tail of a bird.
- 4
obsoleteThe tail of an animal in general.
- 5
The elongated body or form of something narrow and winding, such as the course of a river or the body of a snake.
- 6
A transient trail of glowing ions behind a large meteor as it falls through the atmosphere or accompanying a comet as it nears the sun; tail.
- 7
archaicAn animal's trail or track.
- 8
obsoleteSomething dragged or laid along the ground to form a trail of scent or food along which to lure an animal.
- 9
obsoleteTreachery; deceit.
- 10
obsoleteA trick or stratagem.
- 11
obsoleteA trap for animals, a snare; (figuratively) a trap in general.
- 12
obsoleteA lure; a decoy.
- 13
obsoleteA live bird, handicapped or disabled in some way, provided for a young hawk to kill as training or enticement.
- 14
obsoleteA clue or trace.
- 15
obsoletetrain oil, whale oil
verb
- 1
To practice an ability.
She trained seven hours a day to prepare for the Olympics.
- 2
To teach and form (someone) by practice; to educate (someone).
You can't train a pig to write poetry.
- 3
To feed data into an algorithm, usually based on a neural network, to create a machine learning model that can perform some task.
- 4
To improve one's fitness.
I trained with weights all winter.
- 5
To proceed in sequence.
- 6
To move (a gun) laterally so that it points in a different direction.
The assassin had trained his gun on the minister.
- 7
To encourage (a plant or branch) to grow in a particular direction or shape, usually by pruning and bending.
The vine had been trained over the pergola.
- 8
To transport (something) by train.
- 9
obsoleteTo draw by persuasion, artifice, or the like; to attract by stratagem; to entice; to allure.
- 10
colloquialobsoleteTo be on intimate terms with.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate train?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of train: tr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Train in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | traîne , train, rame , caravane , enchainement , s'entraîner |
| German | Schleppe , Zug, Eisenbahn , Gedankenfolge, Reihe , üben |
| Portuguese | cauda , trem, comboio , série, sequência , treinar |
| Spanish | cola , tren , caravana , entrenar , trenecito , adiestrar |
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.
Where does train come from?
From Middle English trayne (“train”), from Old French train (“a delay, a drawing out”), from traïner (“to pull out, to draw”), from Vulgar Latin *traginō, from *tragō, from Latin trahō (“to pull, to draw”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to pull, draw, drag”). The verb was derived from the noun in Middle English.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).