trailer

[ trey-ler ]

noun

1. a large van or wagon drawn by an automobile, truck, or tractor, used especially in hauling freight by road. Compare full trailer, semitrailer.
2. Also called travel trailer. a vehicle attached to an automobile and used as a mobile home or place of business, usually equipped with furniture, kitchen facilities, bathroom, etc. Compare tent trailer.
3. a person or thing that trails.
4. a trailing plant.
5. a short promotional film composed of clips showing highlights of a movie due for release in the near future.
6. blank film at the end of a reel or strip of film, for winding off the film in a motion-picture camera or projector. Compare leader ( def 6 ).
7. Ceramics. a can with a spout, used in slip trailing.

trailer

/ ˈtreɪlə /

noun

1. a road vehicle, usually two-wheeled, towed by a motor vehicle: used for transporting boats, etc
2. the part of an articulated lorry that is drawn by the cab
3. a series of short extracts from a film, used to advertise it in a cinema or on television
4. a person or thing that trails
5. a large enclosed vehicle capable of being pulled by a car or lorry and equipped to be lived in Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)caravan

Word History and Origins

Origin of trailer¹

First recorded in 1580–90; trail + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Sting sits in a trailer at September’s Ohana Festival in Dana Point with two important questions before him: which songs to perform during that night’s headlining set and which pair of underwear to do it in.

From Los Angeles Times

Tornado 4 wreaks havoc on a rodeo and sends a horse trailer flying through the air ... real or CG?

From Los Angeles Times

The large trailer is there for real.

From Los Angeles Times

Palmer apologized and thought everything was copacetic between them — until a few days later, in her trailer, a co-star gave her a different read on the situation.

From Los Angeles Times

Last year, in the run-up to Christmas, around £50,000 worth of cheese was stolen from a trailer in a service station on the M5 near Worcester.

From BBC

Related Words

• clip