trailing 1 of 2

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

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trailing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of trail

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
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
  • Kehoe’s motion does not explain why his office wanted to close the case and Brad Bondi’s filing does not provide details on the materials that may have led federal prosecutors to stop their pursuit of an indictment against Amesty.
    Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Many of my fellow conservatives have sought to suffocate the U.S. renewables industry in their pursuit of energy independence despite both wind and gas turbines being mostly made in America.
    Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Experts say a healthy diet, regular exercise, and stable routines balance blood sugar better than constant tracking.
    Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 7 Aug. 2025
  • To make things worse, ROAS is built on tracking models that rely heavily on cookies and click paths.
    Liam Wade, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Nebraska is all in on pursuing Millard South tight end Isaac Jensen.
    Mitch Sherman, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
  • With such an unstable organization, this could dissuade Vrabel from pursuing a head-coaching gig with New York.
    George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Tools like distributed tracing and network visualization will help maintain clarity during scaling.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • The final nurse, plain face and plain name, studies a tracing of my contractions and tells me when to bear down, when to ease up.
    Erica Stern June 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Verb
  • Major stock markets in Asia and Europe rose today in trading following the announcement of electronics exemptions.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Swim in a direction following the shoreline.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Phoenix Tailings, a startup in Massachusetts, is also among a handful of U.S. companies prepared to refine rare earths, by refining the tailings, or leftover waste, from mining companies.
    Emily Feng, NPR, 23 July 2025
  • For comparison, earlier rovers used a brush instead to sweep debris, or tailings, out of the way.
    Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 30 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Trailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trailing. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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