trot out

verb

trotted out; trotting out; trots out

transitive verb

1
: to lead out and show the paces of (a horse)
2
: to bring forward for display or use
trotted out a new excuse

Example Sentences

after no one bought the first explanation, they trotted out another
Recent Examples on the Web Regardless, the Russians certainly welcomed him into the club of anti-Ukraine voices to trot out. Michael D'antonio, CNN, 19 Mar. 2022 Donkeys were traded northwest into today’s Sudan and onward into Egypt, trotting out of Africa around 5,000 years ago, and splitting off to Asia and Europe some 500 years later. Franz Lidz Samuel Aranda, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2023 In adapting the Makos novel, screenwriters Jake Crane and Jonathan A. H. Stewart seem to be content to trot out the usual war picture platitudes with stiff dialogue that has all the personality of an instruction manual. Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2022 After having just one driver start in the top-18 in Sunday's race, things went from bad to worse for Andretti Autosport, who had to trot out a backup car with no practice laps for Colton Herta after the 22-year-old's Carb Day crash on Friday. Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 29 May 2022 Another fanciful theory blames French monarch Charles V. American newspapers of the late 19th and early 20th century loved to trot out this hoary tale. Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2021 The initial temptation when watching this tale of a young couple hosting a Thanksgiving meal in their tiny downtown New York apartment is to trot out the Tolstoy maxim about every family being dysfunctional in its own unique way. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2021 Using one of those sports metaphors that politicians love to trot out, Alameda County advanced the ball Tuesday. Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Oct. 2021 Davis started games at both guard and center in 2020 as fluctuating availability led the Roadrunners to trot out nine different offensive line combinations through the year’s first 10 games. Greg Luca, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Sep. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trot out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of trot out was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near trot out

Cite this Entry

“Trot out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trot%20out. Accessed 8 Jun. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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