I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a trail of destruction (= a long line of things that have been destroyed )
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The accident, involving five vehicles, caused a trail of destruction on the motorway.
a trailing plant (= one that grows along the ground or hangs down )
audit trail
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The lack of a physical audit trail in electronic commerce increases the possibilities for tax avoidance.
be behind/trailing in the polls
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At the moment the Democrats are trailing in the polls.
leaving a trail
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He staggered to the door, leaving a trail of blood.
nature trail
paper trail
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The paper trail led investigators straight to the White House.
rail trail
sb’s voice trails off/away (= becomes quieter until you cannot hear it )
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‘It's just that … ’, his voice trailed away uncertainly.
the campaign trail (= the places someone visits as part of their election campaign )
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Iowa was the first stop on the presidential campaign trail.
vapour trail
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
away
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The thin, dreary voice trailed away .
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At sunset, the tribe trailed away home, leaving me stranded half way between earth and heaven.
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Philip stood on Lee's foot and Lee's voice trailed away .
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The fearful noise abated in its intensity, trailed away and was gone.
badly
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It continues to trail badly behind the ruling centre-right People's party in the opinion polls.
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Whitman, trailing badly in the polls a few weeks before the election, defeated Democratic Gov.
behind
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Grimly, Auguste marched back through the tent into the kitchen, with a contrite Boris trailing behind .
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A plane flew overhead, an ad for Coppertone trailing behind on a banner.
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I trailed behind , still shaking from a mixture of fear and anger.
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This means he trails behind six other declared presidential candidates.
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Rincewind trailed behind , whimpering at intervals and checking to see that his head was still there.
home
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They trailed home under a red, smoky sky, to the cosy, fire-lit parlour and high tea.
off
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Again the track trails off into languishing shivers and cadaverous moans.
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When Jack put a foot on the dance floor, some, then all couples stopped and the band trailed off .
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Her thin voice trailed off into thin air, leaving its faint warning of damage, dirt, even theft.
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We trailed off into the canyons, and pitched tents under the conifers.
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The sentences are less likely to run out of puff in mid-stream and trail off into inaudibility.
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And then his voice trailed off .
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However, this began to trail off towards the end of June due to outside distractions - Wimbledon tennis and International cricket.
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He banged on the door again, broke into another spate of tears, then trailed off into silence.
■ NOUN
campaign
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Out on the campaign trail the marketing of Mr Major has often been unimaginative, betraying Central Office inexperience.
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He does not come across as a visionary on the campaign trail because he has never been one.
finger
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Keith trails his fingers lightly through it.
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Then she trailed her fingers through the flour, parting, separating small hills and ridges of it, looking for mites.
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Anne trailed her fingers along the wall at shoulder height, but there were no switches or dangling cords.
hand
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And walking together on thick-carpeted stairs, hand trailing a blackened balustrade, beams in the ceiling.
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The body leaves the hands and clubhead trailing in a wide open position.
voice
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From time to time her voice trailed off and she became her grief, heavy as a stone.
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Her thin voice trailed off into thin air, leaving its faint warning of damage, dirt, even theft.
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And then his voice trailed off.
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The thin, dreary voice trailed away.
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Philip stood on Lee's foot and Lee's voice trailed away.
■ VERB
leave
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The top two have left the rest trailing well behind.
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That left the Steelers trailing only 13-7&038;.
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Bunched cloths also tend to leave loose folds trailing which cause smearing.
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But the turnover was an errant pass that Clyde Drexler intercepted with 1: 20 left and the Clippers trailing 103-101.
let
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He let them trail on the ground.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
hot on sb's trail/tail
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But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.
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Lieutenant Ward Bond was at the wheel of the police convertible hot on his tail.
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Once again Biddy / Beth flees, but both the Toddler and McGarr are hot on her trail.
hot on the trail of sth
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But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.
sb's trail/scent is cold
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The trail seemed cold until a woman in Mississippi recognized Pearson's face in a wanted poster.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Labour trailed third, behind the Conservative and Liberal parties.
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Nelson is trailing in the polls.
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Penn State trail West Virginia by only 1 point.
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Police have been trailing the gang for several days.
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Sweden was trailing by 2 games to 1.
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These two top drivers have left the others trailing behind.
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With his team trailing 72--78, the manager was forced to bring back his star player.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A poolside dinner after a day trailing toddlers around the baby pool or monitoring middle schoolers on the high dive?
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Although he is trailing in the polls, Texas Sen.
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Myers entered with the Bruins trailing 54-53 and just over 10 minutes remaining.
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Sir Walter Raleigh trails his comforter about the muddy garden, a full-length Hilliard in miniature hose and padded pants.
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Slugs would drag along the bathroom floor, trailing their vestments of brown slime.
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Standing in front of them was an extremely old man with a beard that trailed on the ground and long flowing white hair.
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The Raiders trailed 14-0 and faced fourth-and-eight at their 47-yard line.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
false
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One is inclined to assume that Woosnam had laid a false trail .
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There were months of planning, false trails were laid, tests and traps set up and sprung.
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He's a past master at keeping his whereabouts secret, laying false trails .
hot
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Once again Biddy / Beth flees, but both the Toddler and McGarr are hot on her trail .
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But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.
long
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The power in the sails lifted the yacht so that she left two long trails of dark blue in the spray.
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If he rode horses, it was not a long trail drive.
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When you see the bubbles rise in long trails , get a bait in there if you can.
narrow
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It was a deep narrow trail in the grey blanket.
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The narrow trail began at the end of the campground and meandered alongside Lime Kiln Creek.
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It was a pleasure to master the curves of the narrow fire trail .
winning
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He's at Baden Baden today and should remain on the winning trail .
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By then they need to be back on the winning trail which hopefully will start on Saturday against Moseley.
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Gloucester are on the winning trail after their 10-3 victory over Rosslyn Park last week.
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Double strike ... Shearer puts Swindon on the winning trail .
■ NOUN
campaign
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Shortly after, however, he was seen out on the campaign trail , but refused to answer any questions.
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In a strict personality contest, the younger, more ebullient Clinton comes across best on the campaign trail .
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But despite his absence his spectre dominates the campaign trail .
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It ends with the compromised governor and his surviving aides preparing once again to resume the campaign trail .
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Like Kennedy, Clinton has a physical force that works on the campaign trail .
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That might explain what Dole is trying to gauge in the brief encounters along the campaign trail .
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The flood of credit will be increased this year by all the promissory notes Mr Yeltsin dished out on the campaign trail .
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In the first 28 days of September, Clinton spent 18 days on the campaign trail visiting 21 states.
nature
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There is a one and a half mile circular nature trail around the reserve, which is definitely worth doing.
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The rerouted nature trail offers three new vistas from about 150 feet above river level.
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Eight miles away you can visit the Oakwell Country Park with 87 acres of parkland, nature trails and bridleways.
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The sludge in the Cuisinart fills the condo with smells I remember from nature trails of my childhood.
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There will be no polecat with young at post number seven on the nature trail .
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Untouched for thirty years, ideal for a nature trail - the undisturbed habitat of birds and animals.
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There is a hide and a nature trail which is always open.
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Parish nature trails were also mentioned and Miss Bellamy said that it was possible to obtain grants towards producing leaflets.
paper
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And travellers' cheques or bearer bonds leave a paper trail for police to follow.
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A steady paper trail of bills, grades, pay stubs, and catalogs helps us create our individual identity.
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Always establish a paper trail , too, he said.
ride
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Jeep tours, hayrides, chuck wagon cookouts and trail rides are available for a fee.
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There are two nearby stables for guests interested in trail rides .
vapour
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Ruth flopped back in the lounger and studied the vapour trail through half-closed eyes.
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It was leaving an impressive vapour trail .
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High overhead, a jet laid its vapour trail across a bleached-blue sky.
■ VERB
blaze
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Elise had blazed a talented trail to an art college four years before Merrill took up secretarial training.
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Perfection of the two methods blazed parallel trails of development down the decades from the 1730s to the 1760s.
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His cottages at Blaize Hamlet blazed a trail for a hundred years.
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In the matter of curriculum development, the Chicago Regional Program blazes a trail that library media specialists can follow.
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The moon blazed her trail home.
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It took people like Daniel Boone to blaze trails over the ridges into the new, green country beyond.
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Barcelona has long blazed this same trail , hiring the world's most interesting architects to oversee an urban transformation programme.
follow
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Most mornings she liked to head up along the shoreline or follow one of the trails out toward the fire tower.
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Once, he had sensed a presence following him on the trail .
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We are apt to keep our noses to the print, and to simply follow the trail of the story.
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Debbie Taylor follows the trail through her own life.
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To help others enjoy this restored landscape, Wright followed old animal trails and transformed them into paths and theme walks.
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In the modern era, players of their calibre would surely have followed the professional trail .
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Hicks swung it open and they went carefully over an iron cattle grid and followed the trail downward.
hike
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They hiked obscure trails into the hills.
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Griffith Park is replete with hiking trails , and Mount Hollywood is excellent for plotting future treks.
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We also stopped to hike on a primitive trail , up and over a short ridge to a small, isolated lake.
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But the 80 acres of land surrounding the glass-and-granite manse are laced with hiking trails open to the public.
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There also are countless hiking trails near the lake and in the surrounding mountains.
hit
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Sefton hit the cup trail tomorrow with a home tie against Metrovick in the Provincial Trophy third round.
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Tyros get kick-started by taking shoeless jaunts around their house, back yard and neighborhood before hitting the trail .
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Tornado alerts were broadcast throughout the afternoon but the crowds still hit the pilgrimage trail to the Arkansas capital.
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Those who hit the trail , and those who build the homestead.
lay
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One is inclined to assume that Woosnam had laid a false trail .
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He's a past master at keeping his whereabouts secret, laying false trails .
lead
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The trail led deep into the government.
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A pregnant police chief from a small Minnesota town tracks the murderers, having no idea the trail will lead to kidnappers.
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When he blinked rain from his eyes, Alan could just see the trail that led back to the jeep.
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I saw fresh moose and deer trails leading from the forest below into this new feeding ground.
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Merymose clearly had orders to ignore any trail that led to the palace compound.
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The west side of the 38 acres is surrounded by rocky hills and dusty trails that lead to nearby Lake Hodges.
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Tweed muddied the trail leading to him.
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A trail of mouse tracks leads from one woodpile to the next by the cabin.
leave
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And travellers' cheques or bearer bonds leave a paper trail for police to follow.
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She walked down to her room, leaving a trail of wet footprints in the hall.
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The body convulsed, flopping around the roof in a series of uncoordinated half-somersaults, leaving a trail of blood like footprints.
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It is difficult to make progress in your career if you leave a trail of damaged relationships behind you.
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It slid down the wall, leaving behind it a trail of dark brown juice, like bile.
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We put together a team, leave a dim trail .
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The old nun gets out of the bath, leaving a trail of water on the floor as she unlocks the door.
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But in 1833 there were many brilliant fireballs that left trails of dust and smoke.
mark
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The open savannah is marked by cattle trails that disappear whenever a strong gust of wind stirs up the dust.
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To keep it interesting, one guy ran ahead and marked a trail for the others to follow.
walk
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I walked partway along the trail , closing my eyes from time to time, imagining myself blind, unable to see.
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I heard them call and answer, and I went on walking up the trail .
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If I'd tried to walk out along the trail , I would have met Perkin face to face.
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Buy an all inclusive Steam and Stroll ticket to ride the rails and walk the trails from various stations with our guide.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
blaze a trail
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Poland blazed the trail of democratic reform in eastern Europe.
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Advocates of manned flight agree that robots should act as interplanetary scouts, blazing trails that humans can safely follow.
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His cottages at Blaize Hamlet blazed a trail for a hundred years.
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In the matter of curriculum development, the Chicago Regional Program blazes a trail that library media specialists can follow.
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It took people like Daniel Boone to blaze trails over the ridges into the new, green country beyond.
hit the road/trail
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Doogie allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction as Shifty-Eyes hit the road, then he turned and grabbed Pointy-Beard's tie.
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Gina Coulstock, 18, stumbled, fell heavily and was knocked out when she hit the road.
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Read in studio Well it's time now to hit the road with the London Sydney car marathon.
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So next time you hit the road make sure it doesn't hit back.
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Time to hit the road again.
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Travelers will find it more comfortable and interesting to hit the road this year.
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Tyros get kick-started by taking shoeless jaunts around their house, back yard and neighborhood before hitting the trail.
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We packed up and hit the road.
hot on sb's trail/tail
▪
But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.
▪
Lieutenant Ward Bond was at the wheel of the police convertible hot on his tail.
▪
Once again Biddy / Beth flees, but both the Toddler and McGarr are hot on her trail.
hot on the trail of sth
▪
But they were hot on the trail of a loathsome whine as the party in another mess pined for better days.
sb's trail/scent is cold
▪
The trail seemed cold until a woman in Mississippi recognized Pearson's face in a wanted poster.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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The trail follows the river most of the way to Avalanche Lake.
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The dogs followed the trail of the dying animal.
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This trail leads to the lighthouse.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Although the trail of the Yuezhi ultimately leads to Bactria, it does not take them out of our story.
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City officials refuse to talk about the case, but detectives say privately the trail has gone cold.
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Every trail on this particular prairie led to Vecchi.
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Griffith Park is replete with hiking trails, and Mount Hollywood is excellent for plotting future treks.
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I heard them call and answer, and I went on walking up the trail .
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It took a few months to perfect but here it is, a cookie that is like trail mix in a chip.
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Laser beams swept like searchlights, leaving smoking trails across the rock, as blasters were turned towards the approaching Dalek Killer.
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There, officially, the trail ends.