trawl
/trɔːl/ (bre, ipa) · /trɔːl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtrȯl How to pronounce trawl (audio)/ (ame, mw) · /trɑːl/ (ame, ipa)
trawl — verb
- trawlpresent simple I / you / we / they
- trawlshe / she / it
- trawledpast simple
- trawling-ing form
1. to look thoroughly across a very broad collection of material or many different
to look thoroughly across a very broad collection of material or many different sources with the aim of locating a specific piece of data or a particular person.
Eitan trawled through hundreds of job ads before finding one that matched his skills.
trawl through [documents/data]
The detective trawled the police database for any record matching the suspect's description.
trawl + [database] for [target]
Olivia spent the weekend trawling second-hand bookshops for a vintage cookbook.
Immigration officers trawled passenger lists, looking for a name on their watchlist.
The research team trawled through fifty years of climate data to find the temperature trend.
- search
search is the general, neutral term; trawl suggests a wider, less targeted sweep through a large volume.
- comb
comb implies more thorough, systematic, and detailed searching than trawl.
- scour
scour suggests intense, energetic searching, often over a wide area.
- sift
sift suggests sorting through material to separate useful from useless items.
文法句型
trawl + through + [documents/data/records]
trawl + [database/records/files] + for + [target]
trawl + [places] + for + [people/things]
用法筆記
Frequently followed by 'through' when the object is a collection (trawl through records). Can also take a direct object when the thing searched is a defined set (trawl the database). The figurative use is most common in journalism, police work, and research contexts.
常見錯誤
2. to fish by pulling a large net behind a boat so that the net scoops up fish from
to fish by pulling a large net behind a boat so that the net scoops up fish from the sea, especially from near the ocean floor.
Amani's father trawled the North Sea every week, coming home with cod and haddock.
trawl + [sea area] for [fish type]
The coast guard caught a boat that was trawling inside the protected marine zone.
passive: caught + trawling + location
Vinícius learned to trawl for shrimp during his first summer on his uncle's boat.
The crew trawled for hours, but the net broke and they caught nothing.
Gabriela could see the bright lights of boats trawling far out on the dark water.
文法句型
trawl + waters/area + for + fish type
trawl + [duration] + for + fish type
trawl + [prepositional phrase]
用法筆記
Intransitive use is followed by 'for' plus the target catch (trawl for cod). Transitive use takes the body of water as the object (trawl the bay).
常見錯誤
trawl — noun
- trawlsingular
- trawlsplural
1. the act of looking very carefully through a wide range of files, documents, or l
the act of looking very carefully through a wide range of files, documents, or locations, aiming to uncover a specific item, fact, or individual.
A trawl of hospital records uncovered three undiagnosed cases of the rare disease.
trawl of [records/data]
The police conducted a nationwide trawl for witnesses to the bank robbery.
conduct a trawl for [people]
After a long trawl through the archives, Min found the missing letter from 1943.
The journalist's trawl of leaked emails revealed a pattern of secret payments.
A trawl of the company's financial statements showed several unusual transactions.
用法筆記
Used in the pattern 'a trawl of + [collection]' or 'a trawl through + [collection]'. The noun sense carries a connotation of systematic effort, not a quick look.
常見錯誤
2. a wide-mouthed net shaped like a cone that fishing boats drag along the seabed t
a wide-mouthed net shaped like a cone that fishing boats drag along the seabed to gather fish.
The fishing boat's trawl caught two tons of cod on its first trip out.
trawl catches [amount] of [fish type]
Modern trawls are equipped with sensors that measure water temperature and depth.
The crew worked through the night mending the trawl after it snagged on a rock.
Environmental groups want stricter rules on heavy trawls that damage the seabed.
Takeshi watched the fishing boat lower its trawl into the water as the sun rose.
用法筆記
The noun 'trawl' names the equipment; the verb 'trawl' names the action of using it. A boat that uses a trawl is called a 'trawler'.