trail
- noun
- /treɪl/
- We're hot on the trail of these warm planets around very cool stars.
- paper trail
- follow the trail
- leave a trail
Fact, there was no trail of blood outside the house.
- Fact, there was no trail of blood outside the house.
- No, this was just more pretending, a paper trail of pretend humanity.
- What is leaving behind a trail of bread crumbs?
- You're creating trails, you know, bread crumbs and you're leaving blank spots.
- Like, I've, I've, I've followed the trail to John Vaccaro.
- Sherry started to Snoop around and soon discovered what she says was a trail of lies.
- We're hot on the trail of these warm planets around very cool stars.
- And the government, government's being taken down a false trail.
- That could be true or could just be there to lead us off the trail.
- If I think there wasn't a just such a weird trail of things that he's done post the rumours, you know what I'm saying?
Examples
-
Fact, there was no trail of blood outside the house.
-
I was just following a trail, curious to see where it would lead.
Fiction book (1992) -
Eventually the trail went cold and dead.
-
If you decide you want to be a trader, the trail is always longer than you think.
Fiction book (1992) -
Although Selye spoke out against smoking restrictions, there is no clear trail between his research and policy decisions.
Academic text (2011) -
Nevertheless, authorities are still hunting the trail of the mysterious Thompson.
Academic text (2011) -
Raising, storing, and transferring money leaves a financial trail investigators can follow.
Academic text (2008) -
Examining the paper trail of chat logs can provide useful feedback to course instructors.
Academic text (2013) -
All trails point to one man, Osama bin Laden.
-
The detective found a clear trail of footprints leading away from the scene.
Synonyms
Papers like emails or receipts that show what someone did
A series of small clues that lead step by step to a solution
A set of small signs that help you find your way back, often on websites
Idioms
Compounds
An old route in the United States where cowboys drove cattle from Texas to Kansas in the late 1800s
A light motorcycle made for riding on rough unpaved paths with strong tires and springs to absorb bumps
An old route from Missouri to New Mexico used by settlers moving west in the 1800s
A long dog sled race across Alaska that happens every year and covers about 1,000 miles
How Convincing
Surface Forms
Etymology
Trail comes from the image of marks left behind after movement, from the root trahere 'to pull', and is like a line of signs you can follow. So a trail of clues is a series of marks or evidence that leads you to an answer.