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

While on the trails of these birds, Beehler pored over atlases, trawled local sightings reported on eBird and tracked down locations that were truly remote. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025

Adams reported that investigators made some effort to track down the mystery man after learning about him, including by trawling through extensive CCTV footage. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2025

Noun

Some types of fishing gear, such as trawls and dredges that drag along the sea floor to scoop up sea life, can destroy ocean habitat itself. —David Shiffman, The Conversation, 23 Apr. 2025

Some gear, like longlines left out too long or trawl nets dragged for hours, increases the chance that a shark won’t survive the encounter. —Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for trawl

• ahl
• all
• aul
• bawl
• brawl
• call
• caul
• crawl
• dol
• doll
• drawl
• fall

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