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

The film’s access coordinator Chantelle Nassari also equipped Bode with a fully accessible trailer, double-checked the day’s pathways and ensured the actor had what she needed to be able to perform.

From Los Angeles Times

The murderous mea culpa was shared in a trailer for the upcoming Peacock docuseries "Making Manson."

From Salon

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

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