as in pursuit
the act of going after or in the tracks of another
the detectives' trailing of the suspect led them to the stolen merchandise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in chasing
to go after or on the track of
we trailed our friend into the woods, inadvertently spoiling his plans for a solitary hike
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trailing
Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Then with 47 seconds left, trailing 106-104, Curry dribbled into a stepback 3 from the left corner for the lead.
—Anthony Slater, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27, and the S&P 500 Index’s P/E at 24, are both distorted by tech stocks, such as Nvidia (NVDA).
—Lawrence Carrel, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
As with Bigsby, Spears is game script dependent, but Spears’ script is when trailing and needing to pass more.
—Jake Ciely, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Tangent Palantir is 2024’s third-best performing stock of any public company worth at least $50 billion regardless of S&P status, trailing only marketing software firm Applovin (756% gain) and bitcoin hoarder MicroStrategy (477%).
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
At its current levels of $13, RUM stock is trading at 31x trailing revenues, which seems to be high.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Palantir is by far the most expensive stock on the S&P by its price-to-sales ratio, a metric comparing companies’ trailing 12-month revenues to its market value.
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
On Saturday, Moe Wagner suffered a knee injury and the Magic, trailing by 22 points at the end of the third quarter, rallied to beat the Miami Heat, outscoring the Heat 37-8 in the final quarter.
—Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
Mosley finished as the runner-up for NBA Coach of the Year last season, trailing only Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault.
—Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Then with 47 seconds left, trailing 106-104, Curry dribbled into a stepback 3 from the left corner for the lead.
—Anthony Slater, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27, and the S&P 500 Index’s P/E at 24, are both distorted by tech stocks, such as Nvidia (NVDA).
—Lawrence Carrel, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
As with Bigsby, Spears is game script dependent, but Spears’ script is when trailing and needing to pass more.
—Jake Ciely, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Tangent Palantir is 2024’s third-best performing stock of any public company worth at least $50 billion regardless of S&P status, trailing only marketing software firm Applovin (756% gain) and bitcoin hoarder MicroStrategy (477%).
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
At its current levels of $13, RUM stock is trading at 31x trailing revenues, which seems to be high.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Palantir is by far the most expensive stock on the S&P by its price-to-sales ratio, a metric comparing companies’ trailing 12-month revenues to its market value.
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
On Saturday, Moe Wagner suffered a knee injury and the Magic, trailing by 22 points at the end of the third quarter, rallied to beat the Miami Heat, outscoring the Heat 37-8 in the final quarter.
—Josh Robbins, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trailing
Noun
-
In the pursuit of creating no trash, the serial entrepreneur ditched take-out coffee, plastic utensils, food packaging, bottled body wash, and even throw-away diapers.—
Sara Braun,
Fortune,
21 June 2025
-
Two hours later, the pursuit ended with Boelter crawling to police.—
Nathan Layne,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
Noun
-
Their system was inspired by meteor tracking, with cameras pointed in various angles to catch the entire night sky.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
20 June 2025
-
Sony is suggesting a weekend opening the $28 million range, while tracking shows Boyle’s film coming in at $30 million or more.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
Nebraska is all in on pursuing Millard South tight end Isaac Jensen.—
Mitch Sherman,
The Athletic,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Although initially pursuing a medical career, she was drawn back to her father's passion for sustainable energy solutions.—
Geri Stengel,
Forbes,
30 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Scribble tracing can be a great activity for toddlers to explore nature and their creative side.—
Dr. Pooja Sarin Tandon,
Boston Herald,
11 May 2025
-
The costs go to various responses, including on-the-ground response teams, vaccine doses and vaccination clinics, case reporting, contact tracing, mitigation plans, infection prevention, data systems, and other technical assistance to state health departments.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Swim in a direction following the shoreline.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Major stock markets in Asia and Europe rose today in trading following the announcement of electronics exemptions.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
These tailings are often stored and managed in order to be reliably and responsibly disposed of.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
-
The tailings are already mined and sitting on the surface.—
Scott McWhorter,
The Conversation,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trailing. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share