/ trɒl; trəʊl; NAmE troʊl/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
(in Scandinavian stories) a creature that looks like an ugly person. Some trolls are very large and evil, others are small and friendly but like to trick people.
2.
( informal ) a message to a discussion group on the Internet that sb deliberately sends to make other people angry; a person who sends a message like this
■ verb
1.
[ v ] troll (for sth) ( especially NAmE ) to catch fish by pulling a line with bait on it through the water behind a boat
2.
[ v , vn ] troll (sth) for sth ( informal ) to search for or try to get sth :
He trolled the Internet for advice on the disease.
Both candidates have been trolling for votes.
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WORD ORIGIN
noun sense 1 from Old Norse and Swedish troll , Danish trold ; adopted into English from Scandinavian in the mid 19th cent.
verb and noun sense 2 late Middle English (in the sense stroll, roll): origin uncertain; compare with Old French troller wander here and there (in search of game) and Middle High German trollen stroll.