Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

1 ADJ A tragic event or situation is extremely sad, usually because it involves death or suffering. □  It was just a tragic accident. □  The circumstances are tragic but we have to act within the law. ●  tragi|cal|ly /træ dʒ I kli/ ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj/adv] □  Tragically, she never saw the completed building because she died before it was finished.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] Tragic is used to refer to tragedy as a type of literature. □  …Michael Henchard, the tragic hero of 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

tragi-comedy /træ dʒi kɒ mədi/ (tragi-comedies ) also tragicomedy N‑COUNT A tragi-comedy is a play or other written work that is both sad and amusing.

tragi-comic /træ dʒi kɒ m I k/ also tragicomic ADJ Something that is tragi-comic is both sad and amusing at the same time.

trail ◆◇◇ /tre I l/ (trails , trailing , trailed )

1 N‑COUNT A trail is a rough path across open country or through forests. □  He was following a broad trail through the trees.

2 N‑COUNT A trail is a route along a series of paths or roads, often one that has been planned and marked out for a particular purpose. □  …a large area of woodland with hiking and walking trails.

3 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A trail is a series of marks or other signs of movement or other activities left by someone or something. □ [+ of ] Everywhere in the house was a sticky trail of orange juice.

4 VERB If you trail someone or something, you follow them secretly, often by finding the marks or signs that they have left. □ [V n] Two detectives were trailing him. □ [V n prep/adv] I trailed her to a shop in Kensington.

5 N‑COUNT [n N ] You can refer to all the places that a politician visits in the period before an election as their campaign trail . □  During a recent speech on the campaign trail, he was interrupted by hecklers.

6 VERB If you trail something or it trails , it hangs down loosely behind you as you move along. □ [V n] She came down the stairs slowly, trailing the coat behind her. □ [V prep] He let his fingers trail in the water.

7 VERB If someone trails somewhere, they move there slowly, without any energy or enthusiasm, often following someone else. □ [V adv/prep] He trailed through the wet Manhattan streets.

8 VERB [usu cont] If a person or team in a sports match or other contest is trailing , they have a lower score than their opponents. □ [V amount] He scored again, leaving Dartford trailing 3-0 at the break. □ [V + behind ] She took over as chief executive of the company when it was trailing behind its competitors.

9 PHRASE If you are on the trail of a person or thing, you are trying hard to find them or find out about them. □  The police were hot on his trail.

10 → see also nature trail , paper trail

11to blaze a trail → see blaze

▸  trail off or trail away PHRASAL VERB If a speaker's voice or a speaker trails off or trails away , their voice becomes quieter and they hesitate until they stop speaking completely. □ [V P ] 'But he had no reason. He of all men…' Kate's voice trailed off. COLLOCATIONS trail NOUN 2

noun + trail : hiking, nature, walking; forest, mountain

adjective + trail : scenic, waymarked

trail|blazer /tre I lble I zə ^r / (trailblazers ) N‑COUNT A trailblazer is a person who is the leader in a particular field, especially who does a particular thing before anyone else does. □  He has been the trailblazer and given British sprinters the belief that we are able to take on and beat the world's best.