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n. 1. A series of connected railroad cars pulled or pushed by one or more locomotives. 2. A long line of moving people, animals, or vehicles. 3. The personnel, vehicles, and equipment following and providing supplies and services to a combat unit. 4. A part of a gown that trails behind the wearer. 5. A staff of people following in attendance; a retinue. 6. a. An orderly succession of related events or thoughts; a sequence. See Synonyms at series. b. A series of consequences wrought by an event; aftermath. 7. A set of linked mechanical parts: a train of gears. 8. A string of gunpowder that acts as a fuse for exploding a charge. v. trained, train·ing, trains v.tr. 1. To coach in or accustom to a mode of behavior or performance. 2. To make proficient with specialized instruction and practice. See Synonyms at teach. 3. To prepare physically, as with a regimen: train athletes for track-and-field competition. 4. To cause (a plant or one's hair) to take a desired course or shape, as by manipulating. 5. To point or direct (a gun or camera, for example) at something. See Synonyms at aim. 6. To let drag behind; trail. v.intr. 1. To give or undergo a course of training: trained daily for the marathon. 2. To travel by railroad train. [Middle English, trailing part of a gown, from Old French, from trainer, to drag, from Vulgar Latin *tragīnāre, from *tragere, to pull, back-formation from tractus, past participle of Latin trahere.] train′a·bili·ty n. traina·ble adj. |
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