trailer

[trey-ler] /ˈtreɪ lər/
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.
Origin
1580-90; trail + -er1
Examples from the web for trailer
  • And when the playhouse folded up and drove off, a screen mounted on the side of the trailer replayed the show for all to see.
  • We'd been campers, and our miners' shacks were much-improved versions of tent or trailer.
  • Try telling an over the road tractor trailer driver that.
  • In fact its initial dimensions were set by road regulations on truck trailer size.
  • Or one could rent a generator mounted on a trailer hitch.
  • At the moment you would have to pull a tanker trailer of hydrogen behind your car if you were going on a long trip.
  • There ought to be huge trailer mounted generators and or pumps mounted on rocket launcher sized trucks available.
  • At the movies, users might try to identify an actor from a film trailer.
  • It also takes more effort to learn to drive a tractor-trailer than it does a car.
  • The archive-weighing twenty thousand pounds in all-came to the center in a tractor trailer.
British Dictionary definitions for trailer

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.
(US & Canadian) 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 Origin and History for trailer
n.

1890, "vehicle pulled by another," agent noun from trail (v.); originally a small carriage drawn along by a bicycle. Meaning "preview of a coming movie" first attested 1928. Trailer park recorded by 1936. Trailer trash in use by 1986.

Slang definitions & phrases for trailer

trailer

noun

A preview of a coming movie, a brief travelogue, or another short film shown before or after a feature movie (1928+ Movie studio)