noun
trawl
trawl
noun
1
A large net dragged behind a boat to catch fish.
"The crew hauled in the trawl full of cod."
verb
1
To fish by dragging a net through the water.
"The boats trawl for shrimp off the coast."
2
To search thoroughly through a large amount of material.
"She trawled through years of old emails looking for the contract."
How to Use Trawl
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo trawl is to drag a net for fish, or, more loosely, to search slowly and thoroughly through a lot of stuff.
Common pairings
trawl the internet
trawl through records
a fishing trawl
Word Forms
trawled past tense, trawls plural, trawls singular
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The crew hauled in the _____ full of cod.
Etymology
From Dutch tragelen, "to pull with a towline" — related to "drag" and "dray."