trailer

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See also: tráiler and Trailer

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A trailer (unpowered vehicle used to carry equipment)
A trailer (unpowered vehicle used to carry equipment)
A trailer (prefabricated home that could be towed but typically is not)

Etymology

From trail +‎ -er. The film sense derives from the fact that previews were formerly shown after the main feature, rather than before as is usual today.

Pronunciation

Noun

trailer (plural trailers)

  1. Someone who or something that trails (follows behind); something that is trailing.
    • 2014, Chris Ekpekurede, Laughing Over Serious Matters: Stories to Make You Laugh and Reflect:
      There were vehicles following me, of course, but was any of them trailing me? [] Without any warning, and without signalling with the trafficator, I took a sudden right turn, hoping to shake off my trailer.
  2. Part of an object which extends some distance beyond the main body of the object.
    Synonyms: appendage, attachment, appendix, extension, extrusion
    the trailer of a plant
  3. An unpowered wheeled vehicle (not a caravan or camper) that is towed behind another, and used to carry equipment, etc, that cannot be carried in the leading vehicle.
    At the end of the day, we put the snowmobiles back on the trailer.
    • 1980 April, Greg Stone, “Utility hauling? Do it with your boat trailer”, in Popular Science, page 104:
      My trailer is a Highlander T-14 8G, one of the smallest trailers. I normally use it for carrying a pair of Sunfish sailboats that are much lighter than its 800-pound weight limit.
    • 2004, Mike Byrnes & Associates, Bumper to Bumper: The Complete Guide to Tractor-Trailer Operations, page 310:
      Or you can slide the trailer′s tandem forward toward the tractor. This changes the kingpin weight because you changed the “A” dimension of the trailer along with its wheel-base.
    • 2009, Norman Edward Robinson, Kim A. Sprayberry, Current Therapy in Equine Medicine, page 122:
      There is also a strong preference to avoid the cave effect associated with the front of most horse trailers and a strong desire to face the large opening between the top of the rear doors and the roof of the trailer.
  4. (US) A furnished vehicle towed behind another, and used as a dwelling when stationary; a caravan; a camper.
    We drove our trailer to Yellowstone Park.
    Synonyms: (US) camper, camper van, (UK) caravan, motor home
  5. (US) A prefabricated home that could be towed to a new destination but is typically permanently left in an area designated for such homes.
    The young couple′s first home was in a trailer.
    Synonym: mobile home
  6. (chiefly US, media) A preview of a film, video game or TV show.
    The trailer for that movie makes it seem like it would be fun.
    Synonyms: preview, teaser
  7. A short blank segment of film at the end of a reel, for convenient insertion of the film in a projector.
  8. (computing) The final record of a list of data items, often identified by a key field with an otherwise invalid value that sorts last alphabetically (e.g., “ZZZZZ”) or numerically (“99999”); especially common in the context of punched cards, where the final card is called a trailer card.
    The linked list terminates with a trailer record.
    Synonym: sentinel
  9. (networking) The last part of a packet, often containing a check sequence.
    The encapsulation layer adds an eight-byte header and a two-byte trailer to each packet.
    Antonym: header

Usage notes

  • In Australia and the UK, use of trailer in the sense of “preview of a film” is gaining currency over the synonym preview, due to US influence.

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

trailer (third-person singular simple present trailers, present participle trailering, simple past and past participle trailered)

  1. To load on a trailer or to transport by trailer.
    The engine wouldn't run any more so we had to trailer my old car to the wrecking yard.

Anagrams

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from English trailer.

Pronunciation

Noun

trailer m inan

  1. trailer (preview of a film, TV show, or video game)
    Synonym: upoutávka

Declension

Further reading

  • trailer”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Danish

Noun

trailer c (singular definite traileren, plural indefinite trailere)

  1. (automotive) trailer (vehicle towed behind another vehicle)
  2. (media) trailer (preview of a film, TV show, or video game)

Declension

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch trailer, from English trailer.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Hyphenation: trai‧lêr

Noun

trailer or trailêr

  1. semi-trailer
    Synonym: anhang
  2. (film) trailer, a preview of a film, video game or TV show.
    Synonyms: pracuplik, pratayang

Alternative forms

Further reading

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English trailer.

Pronunciation

Noun

trailer m inan

  1. (film, marketing) trailer (preview of a film)
    Synonyms: pilot, teaser, zwiastun
  2. trailer (unpowered wheeled vehicle that is towed behind another, and used to carry equipment, with the exception of a caravan)
    Synonym: przyczepa

Declension

Further reading

  • trailer in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • trailer in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pt

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English trailer.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

trailer m (plural trailers)

  1. (film, television) trailer (short preview of a film)
  2. (Brazil) caravan (furnished vehicle used as a dwelling)
    Synonyms: (Portugal) caravana, (Portugal) rulote, (Portugal) roulotte
  3. (Brazil) trailer (vehicle towed behind another, used for carrying equipment)
    Synonyms: reboque, (Portugal) atrelado

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English trailer.

Noun

trailer n (plural trailere)

  1. trailer

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative trailer trailerul trailere trailerele
genitive-dative trailer trailerului trailere trailerelor
vocative trailerule trailerelor

Spanish

Noun

trailer m (plural trailers or trailer)

  1. Alternative form of tráiler

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv
en trailer (semitrailer)

Etymology

Borrowed from English trailer. First attested in 1948.

Noun

trailer c

  1. (automotive) a (large) trailer (on or towed by a truck)
  2. (media) a trailer (preview of a film, TV show, or video game)

Usage notes

A smaller trailer as typically towed by a car is a släpvagn (shortened to släp). Technically, a trailer is also a type of släpvagn.

Declension

See also

References