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 2a

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

For vintage pieces, Shah also likes to trawl the retro-furniture stands at Soco de Moina, the flea market in the city’s Hay Hassani neighborhood. —Liza Foreman, Architectural Digest, 30 Apr. 2026

Hanrahan is the founder of Popular Front, an independent news outlet that trawls the depths of the internet and reports from conflict zones. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026

Noun

Beane made trades to maximize his stash, but adding draft picks meant moving back to trawl increasingly shallow waters. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Early specimens collected in trawl nets arrived damaged, as is the case for the majority of specimens trawled from the deep. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2026

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