I.
noun
1 line/smell that sb/sth leaves behind
ADJECTIVE
▪ scent
▪
Ants follow a scent ~ laid down previously.
▪ blood , smoke , vapour/vapor
▪ faint , thin
▪ long
▪ muddy
▪ wet
▪ false
VERB + TRAIL
▪ lay , leave , make , produce
▪
The couple laid a false ~ to escape the press photographers.
▪
The tourists left a ~ of empty cans behind them.
▪ find , pick up
▪
The dog had picked up the ~ of a rabbit.
▪ notice , see
▪ follow
▪ lose
▪
The fox had crossed a stream, and the hounds lost the ~.
▪ cover
TRAIL + VERB
▪ go cold
▪
They had to find the kidnappers before the ~ went cold.
PREPOSITION
▪ on sb's ~
▪
Detectives had found several new clues and were back on the murderer's ~.
PHRASES
▪ a ~ of blood , a ~ of devastation
▪
The hurricane passed, leaving a ~ of devastation in its wake.
▪ a ~ of smoke
2 path/route
ADJECTIVE
▪ forest , mountain , nature , wooded , woodland
▪ cross-country
▪ 10-km , 5-mile , etc.
▪ bike , biking , cycle ( BrE ), hiking , jogging , mountain-bike , ski , snowmobile , walking
▪ cross-country
▪ tourist
▪
This restaurant is off the tourist ~.
▪ narrow , rough , steep , winding
▪ dusty , rocky
▪ dirt
▪ lighted , marked , paved
▪ groomed ( AmE )
▪ scenic
▪ main
▪ campaign , comeback , presidential , winning ( BrE ) ( all figurative )
▪
After a disastrous few seasons, the team are on the comeback ~.
VERB + TRAIL
▪ follow , hit , take
▪
I like to hit the ~ early and be finished by eight.
▪ hike , ride , walk (all AmE )
▪ do ( informal )
▪
We did the Inca ~.
TRAIL + VERB
▪ go , lead , run , wend its way , wind
▪
The ~ wends its way through dark forests.
▪ begin , start
▪ cross sth , follow sth , pass sth
PREPOSITION
▪ along a/the ~
II.
verb
1 move/walk slowly
ADVERB
▪ slowly
▪ wearily
▪ closely (behind)
PREPOSITION
▪ after
▪
I ~ed wearily after the others.
▪ around , round ( esp. BrE )
▪
They spent their lives ~ing around the country.
▪ (along) behind
2 have a lower score than the other player/team
ADVERB
▪ badly
▪
The team is now ~ing badly in the league.
▪
Tyler is ~ing badly in the polls.
▪ slightly
PREPOSITION
▪ by
▪
They were ~ing by 12 points until the last few minutes of the game.
Trail is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ hand , ↑ ivy , ↑ wire
Trail is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ finger