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trail

trail

231 1.4
A visible sign left where a person or animal has passed
  • noun
  • /treɪl/
translation icon : rastro
  • The detective followed the trail of footprints in the snow to find the missing hiker.
  • left a trail
  • follow the trail
  • scent trail

And so she follows this like blood trail to their office room.

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Examples

  • Broadbent crouches by the trail and picks up a hunk of pale gray lichen.

    Academic text (2008)
  • And so she follows this like blood trail to their office room.

  • Then a great head appears at the top of the trail, just above where I had stopped.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • At least we left a trail marker we saw now.

  • We've now been on the trail for well over an hour.

  • There's a trail of blood in every city across this country.

  • The boundaries for the study site were based upon the trail systems and topography.

    Academic text (2008)
  • There are many natural places for people to recreate, including access to beaches, trails, and natural environments.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Is the northeastern corner of Texas the end of the trail for the Cherokee?

    Academic text (1991)
  • No tribesman had passed them in two days, and the trail had all but vanished beneath.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

path
vstrail
969 1.0

A way or track that people and things move along for travel

is about a visible sign left behind not a maintained route
trace
vstrail
492 3.3

A small sign that something was there

is more general and can be a clear larger visible sign
footprint
vstrail
23 4.5

A lasting sign that someone or something was once present and had an effect

is a physical visible mark left by passage rather than a figurative sign
slot
vstrail
  • UK
1 9.3

The track or footprint an animal leaves in soft ground

is broader applying to any kind of visible sign on ground
deer trail
vstrail
1 3.9

A narrow path through woods or fields made by deer walking

is about any single mark left rather than the whole beaten route
trackway
vstrail
1 7.0

Marks on the ground that animals, people, or vehicles make when they move

is any single visible sign left rather than a whole route
horse-trail
vstrail
1 3.0

A path for people who ride horses

is a visible leftover sign on ground rather than an assigned route
vestigia
vstrail
  • Archaic
9.9

Footprints or marks left on the ground by people and animals

is the general visible mark left when something passes
sawdust trail
vstrail
7.7

A line of sawdust that leads to a workshop

is a natural sign left by passage not an artificial marker
cattle trail
vstrail
  • US
2.8

A path used to drive cattle to market or to other grazing land

is a mark left by passage rather than a managed driving route

Idioms

to blaze a trail
  • Informal
4 5.3

To do something new first so other people can follow

Compounds

37 4.0

Papers like emails or receipts that show what someone did

A path in the mountains for walking or hiking

An old route in the United States where cowboys drove cattle from Texas to Kansas in the late 1800s

1 6.9

A path through wild land made long ago by Native people in North America

1 3.9

A narrow path through woods or fields made by deer walking

1 3.3

A light motorcycle made for riding on rough unpaved paths with strong tires and springs to absorb bumps

trail boss
  • Jargon
1 8.3

A person who leads and cares for a herd of cattle on a long drive

A series of small clues that lead step by step to a solution

1 3.0

A path for people who ride horses

An old route from Missouri to New Mexico used by settlers moving west in the 1800s

1 3.1

Riding a horse or bike along trails for fun

1 3.0

A prepared path on a mountain for people to ski

8.4

A very difficult ski slope marked with a black diamond

A path clearly marked with signs or paint to show the way

2.8

A path used to drive cattle to market or to other grazing land

A thin white cloud that a plane leaves behind in the sky

A hiking path that is very dangerous and often causes injury or death for hikers

A path that is wet and covered in mud

A long trail in Alaska from Anchorage to Nome used for the annual dog sled race

A long dog sled race across Alaska that happens every year and covers about 1,000 miles

A line of sawdust that leads to a workshop

A hiking path that is very dangerous and could kill hikers

How Visible

path
969 1.0
track
2.2
trail
231 1.4
mark
468 1.0
trace
492 3.3

Surface Forms

trail singular
trails plural

Etymology

Trail comes from the Latin root trahere 'to pull', which gave the image of a line left behind as something moves. So a trail is a visible mark or track left by a person, animal, or thing.