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trail ~ trail ~ trial

[‘trail’ and trail’ have the same pronunciation, but “trial” is pronounced slightly differently]

“Trail” (verb) is ‘to pull (drag) something behind oneself or to be pulled (dragged) by someone or something along the ground or floor; to go (usually walk slowly) behind somebody or something because one is very tired or bored; (in a game, election, contest, competition, etc.) to be losing, falling behind the others; to follow somebody, usually an escaped criminal or convict or a wounded animal, by looking for signs of their whereabouts’,

a long gown trailing behind on the floor

e.g.

She walked away proudly and her long skirt trailed on the floor behind her.

The little boy felt tired and bored going around the garden, but just trailed behind his unmindful parents.

The ruling party trailed miserably in the elections.    [i.e. the ruling party was behind the other parties or party in the count of votes]

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“Trail” (noun) is ‘a narrow, uneven dusty path or road across countryside; some signs or marks that have been left by a person or animal, usually, in case of animals, urine marks or dung (droppings) or even footprints, etc.’,

a dusty trail (path)

e.g.

The trail that took us to the old fort was so narrow that we had to walk in a single file.

The hunting dogs followed the scent trail of the wounded deer, and finally found it hiding behind a bush.

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“Trial”, as a noun, is ‘an official examination of a statement or evidence (witness) in a court of law, before a judge to decide whether it is true or false, or a person has committed a crime or not; the act of testing the quality, ability, fitness, etc. of something or someone to do some task, or someone or something is fit or safe to do some activity; (usually in plural – of something or someone) that is difficult to deal with or causes problem for somebody or something else’; as a verb, it is ‘to test something or someone to see if they are fit or safe to do some job or activity’,

the trial of a court case in a court of law

e.g.

He was on trial for murder.

She was brought to trial on charges of corruption.

The new medicine for HIV AIDS is undergoing clinical trials.

These teaching methods have been trailed by some three hundred teachers and found to be safe to use.

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