# trawl

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɹɔːl/ · frequency rank #44,535

## Definitions
1. A net or dragnet used for trawling.
2. A long fishing line having many short lines bearing hooks attached to it; a setline.
3. An exhaustive search.

## Etymology
16th century, borrowed from Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”), from Middle Dutch traghelen, from traghel (“dragnet”) (presumably from Latin tragula (“dragnet”)), and as such root-cognate with English drag and dray.

## Easily confused with
- **tray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trawl-vs-tray)
- **trial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trawl-vs-trial)
- **troll** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trawl-vs-troll)
- **trill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trawl-vs-trill)
- **trawler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trawl-vs-trawler)
- **Tal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tal-vs-trawl)
- **tra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tra-vs-trawl)
- **tall** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tall-vs-trawl)
- **tail** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tail-vs-trawl)
- **trap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trap-vs-trawl)
- **tram** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tram-vs-trawl)
- **teal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/teal-vs-trawl)
- **thaw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thaw-vs-trawl)
- **Tran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tran-vs-trawl)
- **trad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trad-vs-trawl)
- **Trav** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trav-vs-trawl)
- **trade** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trade-vs-trawl)
- **track** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/track-vs-trawl)
- **train** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/train-vs-trawl)
- **trail** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trail-vs-trawl)

## Common misspellings (8)
`rtawl`, `tarwl`, `tralw`, `trawll`, `trawwl`, `trrawl`, `trwal`, `ttrawl`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/trawl