trawled; trawling; trawls
1
a
: to fish with a trawl
b
: to make a search as if by trawling
2
: to catch (fish) with a trawl
1
: a large conical net dragged along the sea bottom in gathering fish or other marine life
2
: setline
Examples of trawl in a Sentence
Verb
The boat trawled far out at sea.
a fishing boat trawling the ocean floor
He trawled the Internet looking for websites on growing grapes.
She was trawling through old letters for information about her family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
Ambrose has to go trawling in increasingly dangerous waters to make ends meet and put food on the table but, when his livelihood becomes too precarious, he is forced to look for work further afield and out of his comfort zone.
—Malcolm Forbes, Boston Herald, 15 May 2025
Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Full Story Trump administration eyes deep-sea mining off coast of American Samoa
The Trump administration is taking a step toward potentially allowing companies to trawl for minerals under the ocean floor off the coast of American Samoa.
—Rachel Frazin, The Hill, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for trawl
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Verb
The story of a photographer, haunted by childhood guilt, who travels to remote Himalayan Sector K to investigate a mysterious
phenomenon – this mystery/drama highlights the plight of children forced to work trawling through
giant rubbish heaps in search of things that can be monetized.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
Ambrose has to go trawling in increasingly dangerous waters to make ends meet and put food on the table but, when his livelihood becomes too precarious, he is forced to look for work further afield and out of his comfort zone.
—Malcolm Forbes, Boston Herald, 15 May 2025
Noun
Their first success came when a 21 foot (6.5 meter) long male whale shark, accidentally caught in a trawl net near Sutrapada, was tagged and released.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Full Story Trump administration eyes deep-sea mining off coast of American Samoa
The Trump administration is taking a step toward potentially allowing companies to trawl for minerals under the ocean floor off the coast of American Samoa.
—Rachel Frazin, The Hill, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for trawl
Cite this Entry
“Trawl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trawl. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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