trot

1 of 4

verb

trotted; trotting

intransitive verb

1
: to ride, drive, or proceed at a trot
the fox trotted over the knoll
2
: to proceed briskly : hurry

transitive verb

1
: to cause to go at a trot
2
: to traverse at a trot

trot

2 of 4

noun (1)

1
a(1)
: a moderately fast gait of a quadruped (such as a horse) in which the legs move in diagonal pairs
(2)
: a jogging gait of a human that falls between a walk and a run
b
: a ride on horseback
2
trots plural : diarrhea
used with the
3
: an old woman
4
: a literal translation of a foreign text

trot

3 of 4

noun (2)

: trotline
also : one of the short lines with hooks that are attached to a trotline at intervals

Trot

4 of 4

noun (3)

: an adherent of Trotskyism : trotskyist, trotskyite

Examples of trot in a Sentence

Verb A horse trotted past us. The batter trotted around the bases after hitting a home run. She trotted off to help. The little boy trotted along after his mother.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and Donovan Peoples-Jones will get the bulk of the snaps, but when Goodwin trots onto the field, defenses will have to take notice. Dan Labbe, cleveland, 14 Sep. 2023 My test camera picked up a doe trotting pat at close to 150 feet, and shot a perfectly acceptable video. Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 23 Aug. 2023 Following the crowning of the King and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey in May, the Princess Royal trotted into the spotlight as Gold-Stick-in-Waiting for the parade back to the palace. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2023 In the video, gray wolves can be seen trotting back to their dens with gifts in-mouth. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023 Duran had begun the inning at second, gone to third on a bloop single by Josh Smith and then trotted happily home. Evan Grant, Dallas News, 13 Aug. 2023 At one point, Park Police on horses trotted through a grassy field just west of the courthouse. Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2023 An officer on a traffic stop in the area witnessed the horse trotting through the soccer field at Gardenway and Grange. Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2023 But the past two seasons, Schwarber has taken one for the team, trotting to left due to injuries elsewhere. Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
Noun
Henderson seemed to break the game open with a three-run home run in the seventh, Santander walking in from third base and pumping a fist in the air as the AL Rookie of the Year front-runner broke into his trot. Nathan Ruiz, Baltimore Sun, 10 Sep. 2023 With kids these days holding the attention span of a home run trot, Major League Baseball introduced a slate of rules designed to speed the pace of play, notably with the introduction of the pitch clock. Dan Gelston, oregonlive, 19 Aug. 2023 On the second, Diggs did a Deion Sanders trot after plucking a deep ball before Simi Fehoko could. Michael Gehlken, Dallas News, 9 Aug. 2023 Getting her horse to trust her — and making the gigantic animal trot, change direction, slow down and walk right next to her with his nose on her shoulder — gave her a sense of accomplishment. Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2022 Fewer Americans know that K-pop is just one musical genre among many in a country bursting with sounds — trot, indie rock and rap, to name a few. Zoe Glasser, Washington Post, 22 July 2023 The episode trots along without much further bickering. Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 29 June 2023 To help absorb shock as the horse walks, trots, or gallops, a triangular and highly elastic hoof-part called a frog sits on the sole of the hoof. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 June 2023 At the Koreatown Senior and Community Center, about 30 retirees sashayed and shuffled to trot hits. Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2023 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from troter to trot, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German trottōn to tread, Old English tredan

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun (2)

1883, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trot was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near trot

Cite this Entry

“Trot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trot. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

trot

1 of 2 noun
1
: a moderately fast gait of a four-footed animal (as a horse) in which a front foot and the opposite hind foot move at the same time
2
: a human jogging pace between a walk and a run

trot

2 of 2 verb
trotted; trotting
1
: to ride, drive, go, or cause to go at a trot
2
: to go along quickly : hurry

More from Merriam-Webster on trot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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