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trail rope

American  

noun

  1. a guide rope on an aerostat.


trail rope British  

noun

  1. another name for dragrope

  2. a long rope formerly used for various military purposes, esp to allow a vehicle, horses, or men to pull a gun carriage

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of trail rope

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

My blind roommate and I hook arms and help each other find the trail rope that sporadically disappears in places, and we make it there and back, triumphant.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 1454

As the waves came even closer to his perch, Joseph dumped the last of his sand ballast and busied himself cutting up his trail rope to throw that out piece by piece.

From Time Magazine Archive

The balloon was to be kept near the earth, and steered, as far as this might be practicable, by means of a trail rope.

From The Dominion of the Air; the story of aerial navigation by Bacon, John Mackenzie

Suppose, however, that as soon as the side sail is hoisted a trail rope is also dropped aft from a spar in the rigging.

From The Dominion of the Air; the story of aerial navigation by Bacon, John Mackenzie

The big wagon had already crossed when David on Bess, with Ben at the end of a trail rope, started into the stream.

From The Emigrant Trail by Bonner, Geraldine