TRAILING Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

trailing 1 of 2

noun

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

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

Noun

Positive trailing returns outside of tech are not a bad thing! —

Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 15 June 2026 The combination has left New York trailing by as many as nine points. —

Andrew Greif, NBC news, 9 June 2026 The bigger issue is that Jason Adam has pitched with a lead once in his past five appearances and Jeremiah Estrada has gone six appearances pitching in either a tie game or with the Padres trailing. —

Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2026 Training plants to stay off the ground instead of trailing prevents many common fungal diseases, fruit spots, and rots. —

Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 May 2026 Before 2014, bull kelp—a whip-like kelp with bulbous air bladders and trailing blades —stretched across Northern California’s coastline in dense tangles. —

Tatjana Baleta, Time, 28 May 2026 Though polls leading up to the election showed Cornyn trailing, most failed to accurately predict the sweeping scale of the incumbent’s loss. —

Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 27 May 2026 Via MoneyPuck Score effects were a factor here; leading teams often go into a defensive shell to protect that edge, while trailing teams can pump up the shots and risk to get back into the game. —

Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 20 May 2026 With 36 seconds left and Atlanta trailing by one, Jordin Canada pounced on an A'ja Wilson turnover, drove the length of the floor and converted a running layup to give the Dream an 84-83 lead. —

Christopher Harris, CBS News, 17 May 2026

Verb

Haiti already faced an uphill climb to get back into this game trailing 2-0, but now their opportunity to draw a point looks positively grim. —

Andrew Greif, NBC news, 20 June 2026 Miles is the runaway choice for WNBA rookie of the Year, according to oddsmakers, with -2500 odds at this point, and even factors into the MVP race with the fifth-best odds (+2000), trailing Wilson, Bueckers, Plum and Clark. —

Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 June 2026 After trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, the Sparks cut the margin to 10. —

Jordan Puente, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026 The probe will then use our planet’s gravity to pick up speed for an encounter with another binary asteroid in the Trojan cloud trailing Jupiter in 2033. —

Lee Billings, Scientific American, 18 June 2026 This concern was highlighted by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023, a liquidity crisis trailing only Washington Mutual's in 2008. —

Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 Each tiny stem and leaf was mounted one by one, by hand, trailing dramatically down the body. —

Jill Newman, Robb Report, 18 June 2026 After trailing for the entire third quarter, the Knicks rallied in the fourth as OG Anunoby finished with 28 points, Jalen Brunson had 25 points and Mitchell Robinson pulled down 15 rebounds. —

Mark Prussin, CBS News, 18 June 2026 After trailing by nearly 500 votes on election night, the deficit narrowed to 238 votes. —

Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 17 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for trailing

Noun

After hours of driving around Los Angeles County, the California Highway Patrol successfully ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver in Lancaster.

— Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 19 June 2026
More a sophisticated salon than sports bar, Champagne is doing the invigorating work for those in the pursuit of luxury and a hat trick that giant LED screens will be doing elsewhere.

— Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026