trawl

1 of 2

verb

ˈtrȯl 

trawled; trawling; trawls

intransitive verb

1

a

: to fish with a trawl

b

: to make a search as if by trawling

2

: troll sense 1a

transitive verb

: to catch (fish) with a trawl

trawl

2 of 2

noun

1

: a large conical net dragged along the sea bottom in gathering fish or other marine life

2

: setline

Examples of trawl in a Sentence

Verb

The boat trawled far out at sea.

a fishing boat trawling the ocean floor

He trawled the Internet looking for websites on growing grapes.

She was trawling through old letters for information about her family.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Executives reviewed audition tapes and trawled TikTok and Instagram for candidates, then flew the most promising to L.A. for more than a year of rigorous training. —Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Somebody could probably figure out how to get into my apartment just from trawling from Gmail. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2024

Noun

Once a piece of media has been assigned this unique marker, that marker can be used to trawl through a network and seek out the matching piece of content in case it has been replicated elsewhere. —Liat Clark, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2016

As played by Sutherland, Karl comes across as withdrawn but fundamentally decent, with an air of faint melancholy that might inspire a gal (or a viewer) to trawl for hidden depths. —Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably from obsolete Dutch tragelen

First Known Use

Verb

1561, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1759, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

trawl

1 of 2 verb

ˈtrȯl 

: to fish or catch with a trawl

trawl

2 of 2 noun

1

: a large cone-shaped net dragged along the sea bottom in fishing

2

: setline